


Untouchable

by Baerenstein



Category: Killing Eve (TV 2018)
Genre: F/F, Ghost!Villanelle, Niko can't even compete with a ghost, Post-Season 1 AU, a bit of Dark!Eve for good measure, but also soft, it gets a bit angsty, maybe a murder or two, yes there is also (ghost)sex in later chapters
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-06-28
Updated: 2020-12-23
Packaged: 2021-03-04 09:15:59
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 11
Words: 22,131
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24967321
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Baerenstein/pseuds/Baerenstein
Summary: Eve had made her choice. She had stabbed Villanelle (and killed her, it turns out). She had gone back to London, to her husband and their chicken. She had even gotten her job back.But she soon realizes that the universe has other plans for her when Villanelle steps back into her life - only this time she’s a ghost.Will they manage to find something new together, or lose themselves completely?
Relationships: Eve Polastri/Villanelle | Oksana Astankova
Comments: 72
Kudos: 243





	1. You look awfully pale

There is still a blood-red line under her fingernails, Eve realizes as she rips off a few pieces of toilet paper. She just sits on the toilet for a moment closing her eyes. She is tired. When she finally brings herself to get up and out of the toilet stall, she has to strangle a scream in her throat and stumbles backwards into the tiled wall behind her. The woman, whose blood is stuck under her fingernails, stands right in the middle of the restroom in the same clothes Eve last saw her in, only there is no blood on her shirt and no hole in it.

“What?! What are you doing here?”

Villanelle looks at her curiously, then lets her gaze wander over the empty stalls and the sinks on the opposite side. She shrugs looking back at Eve.

“I have a thing for bathrooms.”

“Are you here to kill me?” It’s a stupid question really. Why else would an assassin – an assassin that she stabbed less than 72 hours ago – be in the women’s restroom at MI6 headquaters.

Villanelle blows up her cheeks, then lets the air escape noisily.

“I don’t know.”

“You don’t know why you sneaked into MI6 headquaters.”

“No. I don’t know if I want to kill you. I don’t even know if I can. And I didn’t sneak in.”

“No? Then how are you here.”

“Well, I was just at the Champs-Elisees, actually, and then I thought ‘I wonder where Eve is’ and then suddenly – poof – I’m standing in a dingy restroom listening to someone pee. Listening to _you_ pee, it turns out.”

Eve blinks at her for a moment. “Did you actually go insane?”

Villanelle seems to consider this, turning her head to the side.

“No more insane than before I died, I guess.”

“You… what?”

“I died. You stabbed me, remember? When I ran outside, I had to hide in a shed when I saw a clean-up crew arriving. I lost blood fast and then I lost consciousness. And then… I was standing… next to my body. My dead body.”

“I- this is completely-“ Eve’s mind is reeling. Clearly Villanelle is playing one of her fucked up mind games again. “Bullshit.” She spits, just as the door behind Villanelle opens. Carolyn walks in and walks right _through_ Villanelle with a curt nod to Eve.

“Eve.”

Eve’s expression of pure shock makes her stop in her tracks.

“Eve… are you ok? You look…”

“-like you’ve seen a ghost” Villanelle chimes in from behind Carolyn with a wicked grin.

“-terrible.”

“I- I’m-“ Eve tries to compose herself, but fails miserably. She runs a hand through her hair and blinks frantically, but it doesn’t help as the blonde behind Carolyn is still there, hands in her pockets, regarding Eve.

“Yeah” Eve manages. “I’m just… exhausted. I worked all night on the new case. I haven’t slept in over 30 hours. I think my mind is playing tricks on me.”

“Mmh. Have you eaten? You look awfully pale.”

“Like a ghost.” Villanelle adds under her breath.

Eve ignores her. “Only a sandwich last night.”

“You know, why don’t you go home, get some rest and some food. I’m sure Hugo and Jess can manage for the rest of the day.”

“Ok, yeah maybe that’s not a bad idea. Thank you, Carolyn.”

Eve walks to the door, trying to ignore the tall blonde, but still making sure to walk around her. When she walks down the corridor she half expects the assassin to follow her, but there is no one behind her. No one follows her to the tube. By the time she reaches her front door she is almot convinced she just had a very awkward hallucination fueled by guilt and sleep deprivation.

She removes her jacket and shoes and lets her bag fall to the floor in the hall, before shuffling over to the couch and dropping down, exhaustion taking over the moment she hits the soft cushions.

“Finally! Do you always take this long to get home? I was really bored waiting for you.” Eve’s heart starts pounding when she hears the familiar voice. Villanelle comes around the corner and moves over to Eve, plopping down next to her. The cushions don’t shift, Eve notices. _That’s because she is just a hallucination_ , Eve reminds herself.

She closes her eyes and slumps against the armrest.

“I’m going to sleep now.” She says to no one.

“Boooring!” No one shouts.

“I’m going to sleep now and you will be gone when I wake up.” Eve mumbles to herself.

“Fine. Take a nap then, but I will still be here when you wake up. And don’t expect dinner to be ready when you do. Because I can’t actually touch anything.”

Eve grabs a cushion to press over her ear and drifts off into a restless sleep.


	2. Do you believe in soulmates?

When Eve wakes up, Villanelle is still there, standing in front of the bookcase, pensively regarding the titles. She turns to Eve and smiles when she sees Eve is awake.

Eve looks away, at the clock. It’s 5 pm.

“Niko will be here in an hour.”

“Ugh” the smile disappears from Villanelle’s face. “He still lives here?”

“Yes. Of course. He is my husband.”

“I thought you had found something more exciting?”

“That’s not how marriage works. Is that what you do? Just move on to whatever is most exciting to you at the moment?”

Villanelle shrugs. “Pretty much. Right now there aren’t many options, though, considering you are the only one who can see and hear me.”

“That’s because you’re _my_ hallucination.”

“No. I’m a ghost. Try to keep up, Eve.”

“You are not a ghost. Maybe you are a hallucination of a ghost.”

“Now you are being ridiculous.”

“So how do you know you’re not my hallucination?”

“Because I still exist when you’re not around? Duh.”

Eve takes a deep breath. There is really no point in arguing this. The most plausible explanation is that she has simply lost her mind, but Eve doesn’t like this explanation, so. “Ok. Let’s say you really are a ghost for now.”

“I am.”

“How did you get to me again?”

“I, well, teleported is what you would call it I guess.”

Eve regards her incredulously, so Villanelle elaborates: “I first figured out I could just think about a place I wanted to be and – bam – I’m there, shortly after I died. I looked down on my body and thought ‘I have to get to a hospital’. And suddenly I am in the emergency room. My body isn’t, though. Just – this” Villanelle gestures down herself. “I tried talking to a nurse, a doctor, other patients, but nobody acknowledged me.” Villanelle looks distraught for a moment, caught in the memory, but snaps out of it quickly.

“I put my new power to use after that. Basically traveled all over Europe in 48 hours. When I couldn’t think of another place I wanted to see, I came back to Paris. I thought of you. I had thought of you before, of course. Hadn’t really stopped thinking about you since, you know – the stabby-stabby” Villanelle makes an exaggerated stabbing motion towards her abdomen and Eve winces at the memory.

“But I didn’t go to London before, because, well, I think I didn’t want to… I didn’t want you to _not_ see me, you know?” Eve nods. “But then I stood on the Champs-Élysées, alone, and I just wanted to know where you were … and…”

“And then you’re in the restroom listening to me peeing.” Eve says trying to ignore the knot in her chest Villanelle’s words had created.

“Yes.”

“So why do you think am I the only one that can see you?”

“Ooh” Villanelle’s face lights up. “I have two theories about that. I have been thinking about this while you were napping. You look cute when you sleep by the way. You drool a little. Anyway, my first theory is that you can see me because we are soulmates - and are meant to be together forever.”

Eve laughs loudly. “You don’t believe in soulmates do you?”

“I didn’t believe in ghosts either.”

“Touché.”

“So while I think this theory is very plausible, I think my second theory is actually much more fun.” A wolfish grin spreads on her face and Eve actually shivers a little.

“And what is your second theory?”

“That you are the only one that can see me, because you’re the one who killed me and I came back as a ghost to haunt you.”

“Oh my god.”

Villanelle then raises her arms, swinging them around wildly, while making “Oohhoohooh” sounds.

“Stop that. You’re ridiculous.” Eve steps back when Villanelle approaches her, still flailing her arms around.

“Are you scared, yet?”

“I don’t think you’ve ever been less scary.” Eve tries to sound annoyed, but chuckles a little when Villanelle abruptly drops her arms and pouts like a five-year old.

“Don’t speak ill of the dead, Eve.”

At that moment they hear the front door open and heavy footsteps approach.

“You said an hour.” Villanelle says accusingly to Eve.

“You’re home early.” Eve calls towards the hallway.

Niko comes around the corner. “You’re home early, too. Or should I say home late, considering you didn’t come home at all last night?”

“Yeah, sorry. We have a new case that I’m trying to get familiar with. It’s a big thing. I texted you though.”

“You did.” Niko’s expression softens. “I just thought you’d take it easy for a bit after… you know.”

“You know how I am with my work, Niko. That’s not going to change.”

He sighs. “Alright. Yeah, I know.” He steps in front of Eve and puts his hands on her shoulders. “As long as you don’t keep secrets from me, again.”

“Of course.” Eve says. Villanelle, who moved to the bookshelf again, snorts.

“Ok” Niko says and leans down to kiss Eve.

“Eww” comes from the direction of the bookshelf. After what she hopes is a polite amount of time, Eve pulls away from the kiss.

“Are you hungry, yet?” she asks. “I haven’t eaten at all today.”

“I skipped lunch to finish early, so yes. Indian? I’ll order.”

“Sure. I’m going up to the study until the food arrives, ok?”

Niko nods, already typing the number into his phone. Eve gives a small nod to Villanelle before walking up the stairs. She closes the door to her study behind Villanelle.

“Is it the mustache? Is it doing it for you?” Villanelle asks.

“What?”

“I could’ve gotten a fake one if you wanted. In fact I might still have had one at my appartment from when I dressed up as Konstantin.”

“It’s not about the moustache. Wait, you dressed up as Konstantin? Do you have pictures?” Eve says with a smile.

“No… Wait. Do you have a thing for Konstantin now, too?” Villanelle asks wrinkling her nose.

“Anna called him a very sexy man.”

Villanelle gives her a pointed look. “Wow”

“I didn’t… I don’t know why I said that.”

“Because you like to hurt me, of course.” Villanelle’s eyes are icy now. Eve’s instincts tell her to back down, to apologize.

“I… maybe.” She says calmly instead.

“At least you can admit it.”

“Don’t pretend you’re innocent.”

Villanelle smiles at that. “I never said I was. But at least I didn’t kill you. I could have.” She steps closer to Eve, only inches from her now. Eve doesn’t move. “Even with a knife in my gut, I could have.”

“So why didn’t you?” Eve asks quietly and takes a step forward. Villanelle’s eyes roam over her face.

“I promised.” She whispers. Her hand reaches out – slowly - towards Eve’s. Villanelle tries to take her hand and slides right through it. It’s the faintest feeling of warmth. Eve expected it to be cold somehow.

Villanelle pulls back, balls her hand into a fist and closes her eyes. Then she’s gone.


	3. If you’d let me

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks to everybody who commented on the last chapters (or gave kudos)! It’s nice to know somebody enjoyed them :)  
> Oh and minor Spoiler Alert for the movie Ghost (1990) I guess

It’s a rainy Sunday and Eve is lounging on the sofa in a worn out t-shirt and sweats, trying to read the book Niko had told her was one of his new favorites. She had promised him and herself she would just have a lazy day with a cup of tea and a book, while he was away on his bridge tournament. She hasn’t gotten very far into the book, but it already feels like torture. 

Villanelle had disappeared two days ago. Eve had tried to keep herself busy with work, but ‘the Ghost’- as Jess had insisted on calling the new assassin much to Eve’s dismay - couldn’t hold her attention for long. Looking around every few minutes, she expected the blonde to peak around a corner or come through a doorway or just appear right in front of her. But _her_ ghost had been just as elusive as the one she was actually supposed to be looking for.

She puts down the book and gets up to get another cup of tea and maybe a snack. She’s at the stove pouring the tea, when she feels it. She knows. She turns around to find Villanelle leaning against the kitchen counter. Her heart beats faster, not from surprise, but from relieve.

“Hey” the blonde says with a weak smile.

“Hey” Eve greets back. “It’s good to see you” Eve says honestly and Villanelle’s smile grows a little wider.

“Yeah?”

“Mmh. I’ve been trying to read this book, but it’s really boring.” Eve explains as she moves back to the couch.

“Why are you reading it then?”

“Niko liked it.”

“Of course. This one?” Villanelle nods to the book on the coffee table.

“Yeah”

“Turn it around. I want to read the description.”

“Trust me you don’t.” Eve says but flips the book anyway.

Villanelle seemingly reads the first sentence, then scoffs and turns away.

“You really can’t touch anything?” Eve wonders.

“No. I mean I can sit on chairs and lie on a bed and lean against a counter or a wall. But I can’t touch anything or pick it up.” She tries picking up the book unsuccessfully.

“Can you walk through walls or doors?”

“No, doors and walls are solid somehow. But I can just teleport from one side to the other anyway.”

“Weird.”

“Yeah. I’m sure I haven’t figured it all out yet.” She says while sitting down next to Eve on the sofa.

“Maybe it’s like in the movie Ghost. Maybe you just have to practice to touch things.” Eve muses.

“What movie?”

“Ghost. With Demi Moore, Patrick Swayze and Whoopi Goldberg.”

“I haven’t seen that. I hated ghosts, so I tried to avoid movies with them.”

“Were you scared of ghosts?” Eve asks with a huge grin.

“No, of course not. I wasn’t scared of anything. I just didn’t like them, ok?”

“Sure.” Eve says mischievously.

“Whatever. We could watch it now.” Villanelle suggests.

“You want to watch Ghost now?”

“Don’t have anything better to do. Do you?”

“I suppose not.”

It turns out Villanelle is one of those people who like to comment on everything that happens in a movie.

“The blood looks really fake.”

“Demi Moore is sexy.”

“That hat is fabulous.”

Eve realizes she enjoys the commentary. So when Villanelle is quiet for a while towards the end of the movie, she looks over at her expectantly. The blonde has pulled her knees to her chest and wrapped her arms around them. Her chin is resting on her knees. She looks young, soft. The last time she looked like this she was laying on a bed next to Eve. Back then it had made Eve angry, made her want to hurt her.

Now, Eve just wants to reach out and touch her. Instead she puts her hand on the couch between them. Villanelle looks down and places her hand next to Eve’s.

“Can I…?” Eve asks, inching her fingers closer. Villanelle turns her head, resting her cheek on her knees and bites her bottom lip. She looks unsure, but nods. Eve moves her hand further until their fingers intermingle. The sight is a little grotesque. Almost like a flip image that changes depending on the angle it’s viewed at.

“Can you feel that?” Eve asks quietly as Villanelle stares at their fingers.

“No.” Her voice is coarse. “Can you?”

“Yes”

“What does it feel like?”

“Warm. Like sunlight.”

“That’s nice. I always liked that feeling.”

They stay like this until the end of the movie and a little longer.

“Did you like the movie?” Eve asks eventually.

“I liked parts of it.”

“Which parts?”

“When the one guy was impaled by the broken window.”

“Of course”

“And when Sam took over Oda’s body to be able to touch Molly again for the last time. Although they should have shown part of the scene with Whoopi Goldberg as well.”

“That would have been weird.”

“Yeah, exactly.” Villanelle falls quiet again for a bit. “Do you really think I could touch something if I focused enough?” She wonders.

“You could try. They said you have to concentrate on your feelings and focus them, right?”

“Maybe that’s my problem. Feelings were never my strong suit.”

“Try anger, maybe? You seem to have experience with that.”

“That’s not even true. I’m not angry often. But ok.” She leans forward and places two fingers against the book.

With closed eyes she mumbles: “Mustache, mustache, mustache”. At the third repetition she pushes her hand forward, through the book, which doesn’t move.

“Nope. Anger doesn’t work. Not even when it’s paired with disgust.”

Eve shakes her head, but doesn’t take the bait. “What else have you got?”

“Mmh. I could go for lust.” Villanelle drawls while placing her fingers back against the book and shooting Eve a heated look. “I’m not going to say this out loud, because I don’t want to make you uncomfortable.” She concentrates and then pushes again to no avail.

“That’s all I got. I’m all out of feelings.” She sighs dramatically and leans back against the couch.

“Ok. Well, there’s no rush right?” Eve tries to sound optimistic.

“Right. I might be stuck like this forever.”

“Hey, if you’re really here to haunt me, then it’s only until I die.”

“Yeah, and if we’re really soulmates, then maybe you’ll join me as a ghost afterwards and we’ll both be stuck like this together.” Villanelle’s tone is lighter now.

“I’m sure I’ll figure out how to touch stuff before you do.”

“Maybe when we’re both ghosts we can touch each other again.” Villanelle wriggles her eyebrows suggestively.

“How would you touch me if you could?” Eve asks before she can stop herself. At least it seems to throw Villanelle off her game a bit.

“Do you really want to know?” Villanelle asks more serious now as her eyes are fixed on Eve’s. Eve matches her gaze, giving her silent affirmation.

“Well, I would start with running my fingers through your amazing hair, obviously. Then trace them over your jaw, your lips, your neck…” Villanelle’s eyes follow her imagination, down to Eve’s collarbone and to the edge of her shirt. They rest there for a bit before moving back up to Eve’s lips.

“Then I would lean in and kiss you… if you’d let me. Would you let me?”

Before Eve can find her breath again to answer, the front door opens. “Honey, I’m home!”


	4. What is this?

“Fuck off!!!” Villanelle shouts at the top of her lungs.

“Hey” Eve whispers sternly.

“Eve?” Niko pops his head around the corner. “There you are”

Eve puts on a welcoming smile, ignoring the groan from beside her. “Hi”

“Hey” Niko smiles back at her. “I’m going to freshen up and then we’re going to celebrate, ok?” He holds up a bottle of champagne.

“Celebrate?”

“Yeah. I won. Your husband is regional champion now. What do you say about that?”

For a moment Eve has no idea what Niko is talking about. It’s like she was on a different planet just moments ago and her mind still hasn’t come back to earth. She forces herself to remember what she was doing before Villanelle had shown up. “Oh, the Bridge tournament. Right yeah. That’s awesome, honey. Congratulations.”

“Thanks.” He smiles proudly and disappears into the hall. “I’ll be quick” he says as his footsteps lead up the stairs.

“That’s awesome, honey.” Villanelle mimics pulling a face.

“You should go” Eve’s voice is measured.

Villanelle’s eyes snap to Eve’s. “Really?!”

“It’s better that way.” Eve tries to keep the conversation calm, but Villanelle’s voice rises.

“For who?” She demands.

“Listen, you can come back tomorrow. I’ll leave work early, ok? We can watch another movie and-“

“No”

“No?”

“No, I’m not going to leave. I want to stay with you. We can go up to your study again and-”

“Villanelle. I can’t do this with you while Niko is here.”

Villanelle rises from the couch and towers over Eve threateningly. “Do what, huh? What is this?”

“I don’t know.” Eve says desperately.

“You do know. You can’t admit it. You’d really rather spend your evening with him? Watch a movie with him? Cuddle on the couch with him? We both know you’ll end up thinking about me the whole time, anyway. You think about me all the time, right?”

“It’s not that simple. I love him.”

“But you want me.”

“You’re not even real.” Eve spits through clenched teeth, just as Niko steps into the room holding two glasses of champagne. Villanelle stumbles backwards away from Eve as Niko approaches.

“Everything alright?” He looks worried.

“Yes. Everything’s fine. Thank you.” She accepts the champagne and drinks half the glass in one go.

“To us.” Niko toasts before taking a sip.

“To you, regional champion.” Eve takes another gulp, before setting down the glass on the coffee table. “Come here” she reaches out towards Niko and pulls him close when he takes her hand.

When he kisses her, her eyes drift over his shoulder to challenging green ones. She encourages him with a hand on his neck and when she feels his tongue slide into her mouth, a memory comes to her mind. _Because you like to hurt me_ , it echoes.

Eve closes her eyes and doesn’t have to open them to know when Villanelle is gone.

They finish the bottle of champagne, while Niko recounts his winning match in excruciating detail. When they get to bed, Niko rolls on top of her, playfully, excitedly and Eve lets him fuck her. It’s all well-known motions and practiced touches that don’t manage to quiet Eve’s mind. Her thoughts drift back to earlier in the day - to a certain young assassin sitting on the couch, engrossed in the tv with her knees to her chest. When Eve comes, she imagines green eyes and honey-blonde hair, strong hands and soft lips.

Niko falls asleep shortly after, but Eve can’t find any rest. She tosses and turns for hours, trying to calm her mind. When she finally almost drifts off to sleep, she suddenly jolts awake to find a figure sitting on the edge of the bed. Half of her face is illuminated by moonlight as she stares straight ahead, away from Eve.

“Villanelle”

Villanelle doesn’t move, doesn’t acknowledge Eve.

“I think I have to go away for a bit. I need to be alone.”

“Villanelle, please…” Eve pleads for the blonde to look at her. Instead Villanelle gets up and stands at the window looking at the moon.

“I just wanted to let you know that I won’t be coming back… for a while”

“Villanelle, please I’m-“ But Villanelle has already disappeared.

***

The smell of coffee wakes her the next morning. She makes her way to the kitchen in a zombie-like state after having slept maybe two hours at most. She forces a smile as she sees Niko at the table, shoving scrambled eggs into his mouth.

“Good morning, honey” She walks over to him and leans in to give him a kiss on the cheek, but he turns his head away.

“Morning. There’s still coffee if you like.” He says without looking at her.

She makes her way over to the coffee pot and pours herself a cup, while she’s trying to make sense of Niko’s attitude.

“Everything alright?”

“Great.” He grumbles, seemingly fixated on his plate of eggs.

“Niko. What’s going on? I thought we had a nice evening last night and now you can’t even look at me?”

He looks up at her then. “I thought we had a nice evening, too. Until you reminded me what an idiot I am.”

“What? What do you mean?”

“Forget it. I didn’t even want to talk about it. Can we just have breakfast?”

“You’re clearly upset, so at least tell me what’s going on. Did I do something wrong? I don’t remember doing anything to warrant such a reaction.”

Niko scoffs. “Of course you don’t. You never do anything wrong, right? It’s just me being oversensitive.”

“If you would tell me what you’re on about-“

“I heard you talk in your sleep, ok?” Niko spits out.

“Are you serious?”

“Yes”

“Ok. What did I say?”

“Her name. You said her name, like…” he drifts off, his hand shaking as he takes another mouthful of egg. He takes his time chewing and swallowing the egg. “What exactly happened between you two?” He asks eventually.

“I- nothing. Nothing happened.”

“You said you were going to be honest from now on.”

“I am. I can’t control what I say in my sleep, Niko.”

He slumps in his chair dejectedly. “No, I know. But that’s not all. I know you’re not telling me something. After you came back from that trip, something had changed. You’re different. And you shut me out all the time. And I know it has something to do with her.”

“It’s not what you think.” Eve whispers.

“But don’t you think it’s curious? The first time we sleep with each other in weeks and you dream of her afterwards. Do you think I don’t notice when your mind is somewhere else? Were you thinking of her?”

“I thought you enjoyed it, Niko. I think it’s really unfair-“

Niko slams his fists on the table. “I’m being unfair? Should I be grateful that you didn’t say her name while I fucked you?” He screams.

“Fuck you!” Eve screams back at him. “If you don’t trust me anymore then what’s the point?”

Niko scoffs. “Yeah, you’re right, Eve. I need some time to think.” He says as he gets up. “I can’t do this anymore, not like this.”

“Leave then.” Eve challenges him. She can’t do this anymore either, she just wants him to go.

“I will. I think that’s for the best. I will pack my bags after work.”

“Take the chicken.” Eve calls after him as he leaves the kitchen.

A few moments later the front door slams behind him and Eve is alone.


	5. Ghost-chic

The last days had been incredibly frustrating. There had been another murder related to the Peele’s and Eve and Jess had visited Aaron Peele, but had gained no information besides the fact that – as Jess had put it – Aaron Peele is a weasely bastard. Carolyn had started to randomly appear in their office asking for progress only to be met with awkward silence by Hugo, Jess, Kenny and Eve.

Meanwhile Niko had moved out of the house and in with his very helpful colleague Gemma.

And in between all these exhausting developments, whenever Eve was alone more often than not she could have sworn she sensed something behind her, and there was a glimmer of hope building in her chest, only to turn around to an empty room time and time again. She felt like she was going mad. It was especially bad when she was home alone at night. So since she could barely get any sleep anyway, she had started to just stay late at the office. Just like tonight.

The crime photos along with the forensics reports are spread before her in a semi-circle on the floor, where she is sitting cross-legged. The pictures are getting blurry before her tired eyes as the first light of the new day peaks in through the office windows.

That’s when she feels it again, that shift in the air somewhere behind her. She doesn’t dare turn around this time.

She closes her eyes, imagines Villanelle standing behind her.

“Hey” she says into the quiet of the office. She imagines Villanelle approaching her from behind, maybe she’s looking over her shoulder, or crouching down beside her - or she’s circling her, ready to disappear the moment Eve opens her eyes.

“Can you stay for a bit?” Eve asks. Without opening her eyes she lays down on her back, crossing her arms over her stomach. Eve thinks Villanelle might use the opportunity to take a closer look at the crime scene photos.

“She’s good – smart, efficient. But she doesn’t have your flair. I think maybe she doesn’t even want to kill. Or she just doesn’t have a knack for the dramatic like you do. Or nobody she wants to be noticed by.”

There’s no response, the only sounds are Eve’s soft breaths.

“Niko and I are done, by the way. But you probably already know that.” Again nothing. The warm feeling of companionship is still there though, so she keeps her eyes closed. Her body is getting heavy and she can feel herself falling asleep.

“I miss you” she whispers.

“You shouldn’t make a habit of sleeping on the floor. Your back probably won’t be too happy about it.” Eve hears a female voice say. When she opens her eyes she sees Jess hovering above her. She holds a coffee cup and a pastry bag into Eve’s view. “Why am I not surprised to find you like this?”

“What time is it?” Eve asks as she struggles to stand up. The stiffness in her back and neck indicate she’s been asleep on the floor for at least a few hours.

“8 am.” Jess informs her as she hands her the breakfast items. “You’re welcome.”

“Thanks, Jess. You’re the best.”

“Yeah, yeah. You do still have a home, right? Maybe you should try getting off work on time every once in a while. Just a suggestion.”

“I’ll try.”

She doesn’t. Kenny starts to joins her on her late work nights sometimes, even though he mostly ends up falling asleep on his laptop with his headphones on. Eve has the suspicion that he wants to keep her company, because he thinks she is sad about Niko. And of course the end of her marriage doesn’t leave her unaffected. There are nights when she reaches out to the other side of the bed, expecting a warm body to lean against. But mostly when she comes home to the empty house she is just relieved. Relieved she doesn’t have to put on a smile and try to be the nice, caring wife. Relieved she doesn’t have to pretend her heart isn’t aching, longing for someone other than her husband.

The feeling of a hidden companion doesn’t come anymore after that night at the office. She wonders if she imagined it all.

“Do you believe in an afterlife?” Eve asks Kenny one night.

Kenny looks up from his screen. “I… I don’t know. Do you?”

“I don’t know.” Eve answers resigned.

“I never did. I always thought we would just cease to exist when the neurons in our brain stop firing.” Kenny stares off into the distance. “But when my dad died, I couldn’t accept that. I keep thinking maybe he is still out there somewhere and I get to see him again one day. It’s more of a hope than a belief, though.”

“Yeah, I get that.”

“Do you miss him?”

“Who?”

“Bill” Kenny clarifies.

“Oh. Yeah I do – a lot. I always felt like I could talk to him about anything.”

Kenny nods. “But you weren’t thinking about him just now.”

Eve hesitates for a moment, but she doesn’t have the heart to lie to Kenny. “No”

“Is this about her?” Kenny asks and Eve nods reluctantly. “Do you think you killed her?”

“I know I did.”

“How? Have you heard something?”

“No. Just a feeling.” Kenny nods even though he can’t possibly understand what is going through Eve’s mind – she doesn’t even understand it herself.

“You can talk to me, you know. I mean… if you ever want to.” Kenny offers.

“Thanks, Kenny.” Eve gives him a warm smile that he reciprocates before turning back to his computer.

***

Their overtime finally pays off when Eve’s profile combined with Kenny’s hacking skills gives them a name and a face to the alias ‘the Ghost’. The operation to bring her into MI6 custody goes by without a hitch. The problem only arises after, when they try to get information out of the Ghost about her employer and their motives.

They had interrogated her for hours now, but the assassin wasn’t giving them any reason to believe they would ever get anything out of her.

“I’m going home for a few hours. I need a shower and some fresh clothes. You should go home, too, get some sleep and we’ll start fresh in the morning.” Eve tells the team and Jess and Hugo just nod tiredly.

It’s past midnight on a Tuesday so the tube is mostly empty except for a few people coming from or going to late night shifts.

Eve sits down and leans her head back against the window, staring up at the ceiling. She registers movement from the corner of her eyes. Somebody sits down opposite her. There are enough free seats to leave more space between them so Eve glances forward warily.

And of course, the one time she didn’t expect her, the one time she didn’t sense her, she decides to show herself again. The first thing Eve notices is that the long-sleeve shirt and black jeans have been replaced by a black suit with silver lapels and an intricate silver pattern. Villanelle had combined it with a white shirt, black tie and silver dress shoes. The suit looks like it was designed specifically for Villanelle’s body. Eve looks her over once and raises an eyebrow questioningly.

Villanelle smiles cockily as she spreads her arms over the back rests of the neighboring seats and rests one foot on the other knee. “I learned a new trick. Do you like it?”

So Villanelle was in that type of mood, Eve notes with a hint of relief. _Of course I like it when you look like at me like_ that, she almost admits. Why is her body such a traitor?

“Fishing for compliments?” Eve asks instead and the guy in a McDonald’s uniform a few seats away shoots her a very confused look.

“They are quite rare these days” Villanelle says with a casual shrug.

“Is it hard not getting any attention anymore?” Eve questions in a lower voice hoping the noise of the train masks her words to the other passengers.

“Yes, actually”

“Is that why you’re back now?”

Before Villanelle can answer they reach the stop at which Eve has to get off and the McDonald’s guy schools her with a very suspicious look when she walks past him to exit the train.

“Is that what you really think?” Villanelle asks, catching up beside her. Eve bites back a bitter remark. She is furious now somehow, that Villanelle left her for weeks, that she shows up again cocky and unaffected as usual - like Eve is just a plaything that she picks up when she gets bored. But deep down Eve knows it’s not true or just doesn’t want it to be true. And even more than she is angry she is also scared. Scared that Villanelle will leave again - that she will drive her away again. Will she ever come back if she leaves now? Eve can’t bear the thought.

“No. It’s not.” She admits gentler now. “I’m a little on edge because of work.”

Villanelle nods. “Ah, the boring assassin. No flair. Any leads on that one?”

Eve regards her searchingly. “We caught her actually.”

“Really? So why are you so grumpy?”

“We don’t know who she works for and we can’t get anything out of her.”

“Not even with torture?”

“We haven’t tried that, yet.”

“Than what have you been doing?”

“Interrogating her.”

“Pfff” Villanelle exhales noisily and chuckles. “Ok”

They reach Eve’s house then and Eve lets them in.

“So” Eve starts while walking into the kitchen to grab a glass of wine. “What have you been up to lately? Where have you been?” She pours herself a generous serving of red wine and takes a sip.

“Here and there” Villanelle says slowly leaning against the side of the kitchen counter. “I went to see the Northern Lights”

“Oh?”

“Yeah. They’re amazing, very pretty. Have you seen them?”

“No, I haven’t”

“You should go see them”

“Maybe someday” Eve says non-committally.

Villanelle nods in acceptance. “I also visited Konstantin.”

Eve raises her eyebrows. “Is he alive or…?”

“Oh, yes. Very much alive.”

“Could he…?”

“See me? No. Still only you.” Villanelle smiles. “He’s back with the Twelve.”

“Really? I thought they wanted him dead.”

Villanelle shrugs. “They seem to change their mind a lot. He doesn’t seem to be a handler anymore, though. More like a trade’s person? I don’t know, I think he was preparing a negotiation to buy something for the Twelve.”

“Do you know what he was preparing to buy?”

“I didn’t pay much attention - never really cared for all the machinations. All I know is he’s working for the Twelve again and he’s back with his fat wife and annoying daughter, so I guess he got his comeuppance after all.”

“He’s back with his family?”

“Guess so.”

“That’s interesting. He must have made a deal with the Twelve. I wonder-“

“Eve?”

“Huh?”

“I came here to ask you something.”

Eve is yanked from her thoughts about international crime organizations and Russian spies.

“What-“ Eve gulps. Her heart drops at the sight of Villanelle intently observing her silver shoe, which is soundlessly kicking against the kitchen counter. “What did you want to ask me?” Eve tries to sound casual, but her heart is thumping so strong, it’s hard for her to hear herself.

Villanelle remains silent for a bit and Eve doesn’t dare make a sound. Finally, the blonde looks up into Eve’s eyes and there is something so vulnerable in her eyes, just for a second, then it’s gone.

“Do you like my new outfit? You didn’t answer me before.” Eve’s hand twitches with the impulse to throw the wine glass against the nearest wall. When Eve doesn’t answer, Villanelle continues, “I saw it in a boutique in Milan and immediately fell in love. I thought it was very _ghost-chic_ , don’t you think?”

“Ghost-chic?”

“Yes. It was perfect for me. So I imagined what I would look like in it. And then I was suddenly wearing it. Just like when I discovered I could teleport. I guess it has its perks not to be made out of matter anymore.” There is something desperate in Villanelle’s voice, something that makes Eve step closer and reach out her hand carefully towards Villanelle's shoulder. She traces her fingers along the lapel of the suit jacket and imagines with a sigh what the shiny material would feel like.

“You look beautiful.” She whispers. Villanelle, who hasn’t breathed since Eve had stepped closer, let’s out a shaky breath.

“Do you think I’m not real?” Villanelle asks barely audibly. Eve looks up and there it is again, that expression that feels so foreign on Villanelle’s face.

“No” Eve shakes her head. “I know you’re real.”

“How?”

“I can feel it. I can feel you. I know when you’re close, even when I can’t see you.”

That seems to calm Villanelle a little, but there is still doubt in her eyes.

“Maybe we can prove it” Eve says.

“Prove it? How?”

Eve thinks for a little while. “Oh, I think I have an idea.” She smiles at Villanelle and Villanelle matches her smile tentatively.


	6. I can

It’s almost 2 am when Kenny arrives at the office. He can hear Eve’s voice coming from the office. It sounds a bit like she is trying to calm someone down, but he can only hear her voice. When he enters the office he finds Eve alone at her desk.

“What’s going on? Did you make progress with the Ghost?” He asks Eve. She had sent him a text 20 minutes ago to come to the office as quickly as possible and he is still a little out of breath from cycling as fast as he could.

“No, this isn’t about the case.”

“Oh? Ok. What is it about then?” Kenny questions while he sits down at his own desk.

“You said I could talk to you, right?” Eve’s voice is hesitant.

“Yes, Eve. Always.” Kenny rolls his chair closer to Eve’s desk.

“Do you promise not to tell anyone about what I tell you?” Her eyes dart from Kenny to a spot behind him and back.

“Of course. You know I can keep a secret.”

Eve nods. “Ok, but before I explain what’s going on, I need your help with something.”

“Ok.”

“Can you take that Rubic’s cube from your desk?” Kenny looks at her questioningly, but takes the Rubic’s cube. “Now turn around so I can’t see it and reshuffle it.” Kenny turns with his chair and moves the different layers of the cube multiple times until he feels like it is thoroughly reshuffled. “Ok, hold it steady in front of you now. Good. The colors of the corners of the side that is facing away from you are - from top left to bottom right: yellow, white, red, blue. Take a look if I’m right.”

Kenny turns the cube around, so he can look at the other side. When he sees the colors his brows furrow. “Ok. Nice trick. How does it work? A mirror, a camera?”

“No. Get up and move somewhere else, anywhere. You can even leave the room if you want to.” They try this three more times and each time Eve names the correct colors.

“Ok. I have no idea how this is possible. This is my cube. There’s no way you could have tinkered with it in a way that you would be able to do this.” Kenny sits back down in the chair opposite Eve.

“Please promise me, you won’t call me insane.” Eve says.

“I promise. Now tell me how you’re doing this. I need to know.”

“Alright. Remember when I told you I know that I killed Villanelle?”

“Yeah…”

“Well, it’s because she’s a ghost now and she’s here right now telling me what the cube looks like.”

“I- What? Are you joking? You’re joking, right?”

“No. I’m absolutely serious.”

“Eve, that’s… that’s…”

“Don’t say it.” Eve warns.

“Not very sane?”

“I know. Believe me. I thought I was losing my mind. But you just proved that I’m not. That she is really here.”

“And where exactly is she?”

“She’s standing right behind you.”

Kenny turns around slowly, his eyes wandering around the empty office. “Eve…”

“You can’t see or hear her. Only I can.”

“So she’s here?” Kenny asks and reaches out his hand.

“A little to the left” Eve tells him and he moves his hand.

“Woah” he whispers.

“What?” Eve asks curiously.

“It’s sort of… warm?”

“You can feel that, too?”

He moves his hand from left to right slowly. “Right here.” He says when his hand is back in the same place. “Now it’s gone.”

“Yeah, she moved away. She doesn’t like to be poked in the gut, even if she can’t feel it. She says, if she’s ever able to hold a weapon again, she’ll cut your hand of. She’s just joking, though. Probably.”

“Oh. That’s… very funny.” Kenny says while paling significantly.

“Do you believe me now?”

“There definitely is some kind of temperature shift. But that doesn’t really prove… maybe we could… could that work?...no…maybe it could… wait, I have an idea!” He exclaims excitedly.

Five minutes later they are standing in the MI6 foyer staring at a colorful image on a screen. They had to bribe the guard with a free lunch, but they eventually convinced him to let them use the full body scanner unsupervised for a few minutes.

“So this is a terahertz scanner. It can emit electromagnetic waves with terahertz wavelength to visualize weapons of a number of different materials, like plastic, through clothes. The detector we are using can pick up radiation with infra-red to terahertz wavelengths with extremely high sensitivity and spatial resolution. Since Villanelle’s… manifestation feels warm, it could be possible that she emits thermal radiation, which is electromagnetic radiation of the same frequency.”

“So basically we might be able to see Villanelle through the scanner.” Eve concludes impatiently.

“Exactly. Can you tell her to get into the scanning area?”

“She can hear you, you know. And she already moved there.”

“Mmh. Let me adjust the sensitivity and the frequency and we might- Holy shit.” Kenny says as his eyes dart from the orange figure surrounded by blue on the monitor to the empty space in the scanner and back. “That’s her.”

“Yeah” Eve says in amazement.

“Can she wave, maybe… or jump?” Kenny looks at the monitor excitedly waiting for the figure to move. “That doesn’t look like a wave…”

“She’s flipping you off. She says she’s not a circus monkey.”

“Now she’s gone.” Kenny notes with disappointment in his voice.

“She said she’s going home.” Eve explains.

“Where does she live? Uh, I mean- you know what I mean.”

“Oh, I think she meant my place.” Eve mumbles, looking at her feet.

“Ah. How does she get there?”

“She teleports.”

“Right. Of course.”

“I should probably get back, too. Thank you, Kenny. This means a lot to me. Get home safe, ok? I’ll see you tomorrow.”

“Bye, Eve.” Kenny says and watches Eve hurry to the exit. He might as well stay at the office, because he surely won’t get any sleep tonight.

***

“I guess we just proved that you actually exist. Congratulations.” Eve says cheerily when she finds Villanelle on the couch in her house.

“Don’t be daft, Eve. I always knew I existed.” Villanelle declares a little moodily.

“Then why did you want to do all of this?” Eve questions as she sits down next to Villanelle.

“Because I needed you to know it, too.” Villanelle says like it’s the most obvious thing in the world.

“I told you I-“

“I know what you told me. But you rarely ever say what you actually think. I can tell when you mean something. And I can tell when you’re unsure.”

Eve has to concede that her words of reassurance earlier were meant to convince herself as much as Villanelle. “It’s not an easy thing to believe.” She says softly.

“I know.”

“I might not have fully believed it, but I really hoped you were real.”

“So you don’t want me to leave again?” Villanelle asks hopefully.

“No. Do you want to leave?”

“No, I want to stay.” Villanelle says resolutely.

“Ok. Come on, then.” Eve gets up and walks up the stairs and into the bedroom and Villanelle follows behind. She grabs her sleep shorts and shirt. “Wait here, I just need a quick shower.” When Eve comes back, Villanelle is sitting in the chair in the corner of the bedroom. Eve gets into bed and tucks herself in. “I have to get some sleep. It’s going to be a rough day tomorrow trying to get the Ghost to talk.”

“Don’t you think it’s a little confusing to call her ‘the Ghost’, considering everything.”

“I could give you a nickname if you’d like.” Eve teases tentatively.

“No, thank you.” Villanelle leans back in the chair more comfortably.

“Are you going to sleep in that chair?” Eve asks.

“I don’t sleep anymore.”

“Oh. Well, I’m really exhausted…”

“That’s fine. I’ll just wait.” Villanelle says, crossing her legs.

“Can you please not watch me sleep? It’s creepy.”

“But I told you, you’re really cute.” Eve gives her an unimpressed look. Villanelle leans back further in the chair and stairs at the ceiling. “Ok, I won’t look.”

“Yeah, I’ve heard that before.” Eve grumbles as she sinks further into the cushions, too tired to really care anymore. Villanelle smiles, still staring at the ceiling.

“Goodnight, Eve.”

“Goodnight, ghosty”

“No”

*******

Despite their late night shenanigans, Eve wakes up early the next morning. She finds Villanelle still sitting in the same position as last night and the blonde refuses to tell her if she stayed in that chair all night. Villanelle stays by Eve’s side as she roams around the house and hurries to work and Eve doesn’t protest when she even follows her into the interrogation room.

“If you tell us who you’re working for, we can protect you and your family.” Eve says after she has taken a seat opposite the captured assassin.

The Ghost remains silent.

“Ok. How about this? Are there others like you out there?”

“Others?” The ghost asks.

“Female killers?”

“Why? Do you want to join our club?”

“Ha” Villanelle, who is pacing behind the ghost, exclaims. “She’s not bad. She has you figured out.”

“Villanelle” Eve chastises the woman, before realizing she has spoken out loud. But when she looks back to the Ghost, she sees a hint of apprehension in her eyes.

“Ever heard of someone with that name? She might be part of your club?”

“She is the egg-ghost. The demon with no face.”

“What?” Villanelle suddenly appears beside them and slams her hands on the table. “What does she mean no face? Look at this face” she leans over into the Ghosts line of sight, but there is no reaction from the other woman. Villanelle leans back. “Tell her I have a very beautiful face, Eve.”

“No one has heard anything about her in a while, though” the Ghost continues. “There is a rumor that she might be dead.”

Eve pretends to be surprised by this. “So the Twelve might have been looking for a new assassin?”

“I don’t know who that is.” The Ghost says.

“You’re not going to get anything out of her like this.” Villanelle says.

Eve huffs. “Ok. We’re done for now.”

Eve leaves the interrogation room with Villanelle in tow and leads them to an empty office.

“So what do you suggest?” Eve asks Villanelle impatiently.

“You really want to hear my idea?”

“Yes, that’s why I’m asking.”

“Ok, no need to be rude. So you need to give her a good incentive to make her talk, but you probably can’t offer her anything her employer can’t.”

“Right”

“The only thing that might get you somewhere with her is fear. In order for her to talk you need to make her fear you more than her employer.”

“Any suggestions on how to do that?”

“Yes, but it’s probably not legal and definitely not ethical.”

Eve motions for her to continue.

“Well, first you need to get her somewhere without cameras, unsupervised.”

“I can arrange that.”

“And then all you need is a phone and my help.”

“Sounds simple enough.”

A few hours later they arrive at the Forest of Dean, where a single red container has been positioned between the large trees. The two armed man guarding the container open the doors when Eve approaches and nods towards them in greeting. Inside, the Ghost is blindfolded and shackled to a chair placed in the middle of the container.

“Are you sure about this, Eve?” Villanelle asks from behind her. Eve ignores the question and steps forward to remove the Ghost's blindfold.

“This is your last chance to tell us who you work for.” Eve tells her. No response. “Alright” she says and turns around fixing Villanelle with a determined stare. The blonde nods and disappears only to reappear a few moments later.

“I’m ready” she tells Eve.

“I currently have someone positioned in front of your family’s house. If they don’t hear from me in three minutes, they have orders to kill.” Eve explains, turning back towards the Ghost.

“Am I supposed to believe that?”

Eve walks over to her and unshackles one of her hands, then drops a phone in her hand. “Here, call your children. Ask them what they are wearing right now.”

The Ghost hesitantly lifts the phone. “Two minutes” Eve says and the Ghost starts dialing. She speaks in Korean for a few moments. She asks her kids if they are alright, tells them she will be home soon, then asks about their clothes. She looks at Eve expectantly.

“The boy is wearing grey joggers and a Ben Ten shirt and the girl is wearing blue pyjamas with horses on them” Villanelle tells Eve and Eve relays it to the Ghost. The Ghost's reaction is almost imperceptible, but there is a slight twitch of her eyelid that betrays her.

“You’re bluffing. MI6 doesn’t do something like this”

“I didn’t say MI6, I said I”

“You? You want me to believe you are capable of killing my family?” The Ghost smiles, but there is a hint of doubt in her eyes. Eve steps closer, takes the phone out of her hand and pockets it.

“Careful” Villanelle warns Eve as she leans over the Ghost.

“Do you want to know why no one has heard anything from ‘the demon with no face’?” Eve watches confusion cross over the Ghost's face. “It’s because a month ago I found her in her apartment and I killed her. Do you know what she said before I plunged a knife into her gut? She said: _‘You can’t’_ ” Eve chuckles at the words and the ghost recoils from her. “The thing is” she whispers “I can”.

She steps back then, straightening her jacket. “One minute”

The Ghost is silent for another ten seconds. “I want the MI6 protection you offered for my family.”

“Talk and we will put you all in a safe house.”

The Ghost nods. “Aaron Peele is who I work for.”

“Peele’s son?”

“Yes. Call off the hit, now.”

Eve takes out the phone and tabs on the screen a few times. “They’re notified. What does Aaron Peele want?”

“He has a weapon he wants to sell.”

“A weapon? What kind of weapon.”

“I don’t know.”

“Ok. We’ll have more questions when you’re back at MI6. Don’t tell anyone what happened here.” Eve turns around abruptly and walks out of the container without another word. She hears the Ghost mumble something that sounds a lot like “monster” before she shuts the door behind her.

Villanelle is already waiting for her outside. They walk away from the container a few steps, until they are outside the hearing range of the guards.

“Are you ok?” Villanelle asks.

“Why wouldn’t I be?”

“I don’t know. That was… intense.”

“I’m fine. Thanks for the help.”

Villanelle nods. She looks down at her feet shuffling them around over fallen leaves that disregard her presence.

“Are _you_ ok?” Eve asks.

“Yeah” Villanelle says still engrossed in the unmoved leaves. “I just, the way you talked about… that chuckle was very convincing.”

“What’s your point, Villanelle?”

“I don’t have one. I just wondered… if you could go back, would you stab me again?” Villanelle looks up at her then and Eve can barely endure the hope in her eyes.

“Do you really want me to answer that?”

Villanelle takes a moment to consider and Eve wills her to say no. She doesn’t even want to think the answer, but she knows she has to be sincere – Villanelle deserves at least that.

“Yes” Villanelle says eventually.

“Probably” Eve answers and Villanelle is regarding her feet again. “Look, I didn’t want you to die.” Eve tries to clarify. “But… I think you deserved it.”

“I guess I probably did.” Villanelle admits. Her eyes have turned cold again. “But… you should be aware that if you continue down this path, you will probably deserve it, too, one day.”

“I know” Eve says.

They make their way back home in silence.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I appreciate all comments, I would love to know what people thought about this chapter.


	7. More

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter took me forever, and I've rewritten some parts many times, but I just needed to get it out at some point, even if I'm not completely happy with it.  
> I've also structured the rest of the story a bit and it'll probably be 11 chapters total (so 4 more after this). The last chapters are going to be wild I think.

They don’t talk much that evening or the next morning. It feels like they are in limbo, neither of them really aware of what it is they are waiting for. Villanelle spends the night sitting on the chair in Eve's bedroom again. Eve is mostly focused on work as she receives an e-mail from Carolyn early in the morning with new information on Peele and a request to meet with Eve in the morning. Villanelle isn’t too disappointed when Eve tells her not to follow her to work, because apparently Eve’s job is boring anyway.

After a bit of paperwork Eve makes her way to the room number Carolyn gave her. “I didn’t know you even had an office” Eve says as she steps into the spacious, light-flooded room. Carolyn is sitting at a large desk on the other side of the room and looks up from a folder as Eve enters. She carefully closes the folder and stows it away in a desk drawer.

“Me neither. It’s rather nice though isn’t it?”

“Yeah, it’s very… fitting.” Eve feels small as she sits down in front of the large desk.

“Well done on the Ghost. I assume I don’t want to know how you got her to talk.”

“I-“

Carolyn holds up a finger. “No, really, please don’t tell me. Now, have you had a look at the video of Peele and the journalist I sent you?”

Eve nods. “Have you arrested Peele, yet?”

“No. There are… a lot of chess pieces to consider. I want to be careful for now. However, there is a Faraday conference in Rome next week. It is crucial we have access to Peele while he is there.”

“Crucial how?”

“Let me worry about that for now. Just make sure we have someone there.”

“If there is something I should know-“

“Then I will let you know.” Carolyn cuts her of. “Do you think the Euphorbia lactea would look better on the left or right of the Opuntia?”

“I… I don’t know.”

“Mmmh” Carolyn regards the row of cacti on the windowsill for a second seemingly lost in thought, before turning her attention back to Eve. “Oh, there is one more thing. I almost forgot.”

She opens her desk drawer, pulls out a picture and slides it over the desk towards Eve. “Can you please confirm her identity for us. Just so we can draw a line under the whole thing.”

Eve glances down to see Villanelle’s face- only it is paler than she has ever seen. Her eyes are dull and unfocused. Eve averts her gaze abruptly, her stomach clenching violently.

“So?” Carolyn asks, her voice indifferent.

Eve nods minutely. “It’s her.” She whispers.

“Very well” Carolyn says and slips the picture back into her drawer. “Don’t you have any questions regarding her death?”

Eve forces herself to look at Carolyn who has leaned back in her chair and is regarding Eve closely. “Does it matter? She’s dead. Not our problem anymore.” She keeps her voice steady even though her hands are shaking.

Carolyn regards her a moment longer. “I suppose not.”

“Are we done?” Eve asks.

“Yes. Let me know when you have discussed your next steps regarding Aaron Peele with the team.”

Eve gets up and moves to the door quickly. “Oh and Eve?” Carolyn stops her before she can shut the door. “There are things that I don’t need to know and there are things that I absolutely need to be aware of. I trust you to know the difference.”

Eve nods and then closes the door before Carolyn can say anything else. Tears are welling up in her eyes as she walks down the corridor. She’s desperately trying to compose herself during the elevator ride back to her office. When the elevator stops and the doors open she is greeted by the same face - albeit much more lively - than she saw moments before in the picture.

“Surprise!” Villanelle shouts excitedly. “I thought we could have lunch together?”

And then the tears Eve barely managed to keep at bay before are rolling down her face. She turns right abruptly and storms off until she reaches the restroom at the end of the corridor. She locks herself in a stall, slumps onto the seat and buries her face in her hands. She sobs. And sobs, she can’t make her body stop sobbing.

She feels her presence close by.

“Eve?” Villanelle says tentatively. “Eve, what's wrong? Look at me. Please?”

Eve looks up and sees Villanelle crouching in front of her, blurry through tears and hair.

Villanelle moves her hand as if to brush Eve’s hair out of her face. “Goddamn. Will I ever get used to being dead?!” Villanelle asks half-jokingly and that makes Eve sob again.

“No, no, no. Stop. Hey… Eve… please just tell me what’s wrong.”

“I saw you.” Eve mumbles through her sobs.

“Well, yeah I thought we could spend your lunch break together. I didn’t know surprises make you cry uncontrollably.”

“I saw a picture of you.” Eve clarifies. “A picture of… after… you died.” She chokes out the last bit.

“Oh. Did I look ugly? Was it like really horrible fluorescent lighting? Not even a living person looks good in morgue lighting.”

“Oh my god.” Eve chuckles half-heartedly. “You’re the worst.”

“What? I know being dead is not flattering, but with the right angle and lighting-“

“How can you joke about this?”

“What do you mean? I’m dead. You realize we already knew this, right?”

“I know. It’s just… You’re here and I… the picture… it was just so real.”

“Yes, I’m really dead and I’m really a ghost, we’ve been over this.”

“Don’t you hate me? How could you ever forgive me?”

Villanelle gives her a look like Eve is wearing a clown costume. “I’ve already forgiven you and I don’t hate you, but I might start hating you if you don’t stop crying soon.”

“But why? Why don’t you hate me?”

“Because I understand. Because I would have done the same.” Villanelle leans closer and places her hands over Eve’s knees. “We’re the same.”

Eve shakes her head, chuckles half-heartedly. “Have you ever cried hysterically in a bathroom?”

“Well, no. Never say never, though, right?” She shrugs and gives Eve a careful smile.

It doesn’t really manage to cheer Eve up. “Maybe I’m worse than you.” Eve muses.

“I doubt it.”

“Have you ever felt bad about what you’ve done?”

Villanelle hesitates, seems to calculate the probability of causing another flood of tears with her answer. “Not really. No.”

“See? I’m horrible.”

“You’re very confusing today, Eve. How does feeling bad about your actions make you worse?”

“Because I do it anyway. Why do you do something bad?”

“What even is bad?”

“Hurting someone”

Villanelle shrugs. “Because it’s my job? Because I don’t care if someone gets hurt? Because I’m bored?”

“See, I want to do it because it feels good.”

“Well, yeah, it does feel good sometimes, too. Believe me Eve, I’ve done a lot worse than you. I’m not giving up my crown that easily.”

They are quiet for a moment, both lost in thought.

“Can we get you lunch now?” Villanelle asks impatiently after a few seconds.

“It’s only 11.” Eve notes.

“So? I was bored.”

“You’re always bored.”

“And whose fault is that?”

“Let’s just get lunch.”

***

They find a deserted bench outside, so Eve can have lunch in the form of a tuna sandwich and a black coffee from the cafeteria while Villanelle comments on the outfits of the passers-by. It’s easy, normal. It feels like a weight has been lifted from Eve’s shoulders. When Eve has to go back in, Villanelle makes her promise to get home on time.

***

“We have to get someone undercover that can get an invitation to Rome from Peele” Eve concludes her briefing with the rest of the team.

“Does he even have any form of human contact, or does he prefer robots?” Hugo asks.

“I did a search of the coverage from all his media appearances and he does regularly take dates to his business meetings, human as far as I could tell.” Kenny explains.

“That’s something at least. So who could be charming enough to convince Aaron Peele?” Jess muses.

They all look at Eve expectantly. “Well, it can’t be me, he already knows me.”

“Me, too. And I’m decidedly too pregnant, anyway.” Jess says.

“Well, who else is there?” Hugo asks.

“Don’t you know some charming female agents that would be up for the job?” Jess teases.

“I don’t usually date coworkers.” Hugo says. “Although I’m willing to make an exception to the rule if someone special comes along.” He gives Eve a not so subtle once-over.

“Actually” Kenny chimes in. “His dates weren’t exclusively women. There were almost as many men as women at his side. He doesn’t seem to have a preference.”

“Really?” Jess raises her eyebrows. She and Eve share a look and then smile and turn their attention to Hugo.

“So it could also be a charming man.” Eve smiles at Hugo suggestively.

“What? Why are you looking at me? Kenny is also very charming.”

“Kenny has to concentrate on creating the fake identity.” Eve explains. “Do you think you're not ready to go undercover?”

“Of course I am. I just-“

“So, you’ll do it?”

“Of course I’ll do it. But you owe me. Drinks. Tonight.”

“I can’t. I’m pregnant.” Jess says immediately.

“I have to start on your cover.” Kenny says as he walks to his desk hurriedly.

“It’s only me and you then.” Hugo says to Eve before she can find an excuse as well. “Come on, it’ll do you good to not fall asleep at your desk for once.”

“Alright, ok. Just a few drinks, though. I’m already exhausted.”

***

They have a few drinks and then a few more. They are sitting at a table at a relatively fancy bar that still has affordable drinks. The bar is packed and there are even a few people already dancing on the small dance floor.

Villanelle is sitting on the empty chair opposite Eve, glaring at Hugo. When Eve had gone home to change into her only suitable outfit for going out– a tight dark blue dress – Villanelle had asked her where she was going and insisted on tagging along when Eve told her. Eve wasn’t very fond of the idea of going out alone with Hugo anyway, so she didn’t mind. She didn’t mind at all when Villanelle changed into a stunning silver dress with a deep neckline that almost went to her navel.

“So” Hugo fixes Eve with an eager stare while he runs his hand through his slightly disheveled hair. “What do you like about them?”

“Who?” Eve asks in confusion as she tries to will the last drop of her whiskey into her mouth.

“Female killers” Hugo clarifies.

“I don’t like them” Eve denies.

“Oh. It’s only Villanelle then.”

“I don’t like her either.” Eve says as she glances towards the blonde who sticks out her tongue in response.

“Come on. Don’t be like that. You can tell me. What is it about her? I mean she’s hot, I get that. But there’s more to it, right?”

“It’s… exciting.” Villanelle’s eyebrow perks up at that. Her green eyes sparkle with a new intensity as she leans forward a bit, Eve’s gaze momentarily dropping to the exposed skin of her cleavage.

“Do you like watching her or do you like being watched?” Hugo asks from somewhere beside Eve, but he might as well be a million miles away.

“Both.” Eve answers without thinking. “I like chasing her. And I like being chased. At least that’s how it started out. It’s different now.” She finally tears her eyes away to look at Hugo who is regarding her curiously.

“And what is it now?”

She’s already said too much. She should tell him it’s none of his business, because it’s not. But she can still feel the heat of a pair of green eyes on her.

“More” she says quietly.

“Huh. I would love to know more, but I feel like I already asked too much. Plausible deniability and all that. So, how about we dance instead?” Hugo gets up and offers Eve a hand.

“Oh, no. I haven’t danced in years.”

“More evidence that you made the right decision when you left your husband. Come on. It’ll be fun.” His excitement is contagious and Eve used to enjoy dancing quite a bit when she was younger.

“Alright, alright.” She relents.

Eve raises her eyebrows at Villanelle in a silent question. She shakes her head. “I don’t dance. But go ahead. I’ll watch you.”

They walk over to the throng of people and start dancing. Eve is hesitant at first, but her body remembers the movements easily and she finds herself enjoying the rhythm, the energy of the people around her and the knowledge that Villanelle is watching her every move from a distance.

She dances uninhibited with Hugo for a bit. When she turns around to get a glimpse of the blonde, he places his hands on her hips. It feels nice, the warmth and the weight on her hips. She hasn’t been touched in a while. Villanelle is watching them intently, seated firmly in her chair. He steps even closer, turns Eve around and leans in slowly.

“I can’t” She says as she turns her face away.

Hugo takes a step back, drops his hands from her hips. “Alright, sorry. I had to at least give it a try. But thankfully there are a lot of other beautiful women around, maybe not quite as intriguing as you, but for a night…”

“You’re horrible.” Eve says with a relieved grin.

“Maybe we’re lucky and both find one.” He winks at her before he dances backwards further into the crowd. Eve turns back around and resumes moving lazily to the rhythm.

Villanelle is leaning back in her chair, watching Eve with a satisfied grin. Eve beckons her with her finger to join her on the dance floor, but Villanelle doesn’t move so she makes her way over to the blonde, hips still swaying lightly to the beat.

“I want you to dance with me.” Eve tells Villanelle.

“I told you I don’t dance.”

Eve places her hands on the armrests of Villanelle’s chair and leans in closer. “You got to watch me, now I want to watch you. Come on.” She leans back and starts walking back to the dance floor. When she throws a look over her shoulder she sees Villanelle trotting after her reluctantly. She leads them to the wall on the opposite side of the dance floor where less people are walking around and thus are less likely to disrupt them by unknowingly passing through Villanelle. She gets back into the groove easily, but Villanelle just stands on the spot sulking. Eve raises an eyebrow at her and Villanelle groans.

“You really like to make me suffer, don’t you?” she asks Eve as she starts shuffling her feet awkwardly. Eve just smirks. Villanelle out of her depth is a rare sight and Eve is enjoying it.

“You’re so mean.” Villanelle’s eyes search the crowd. It looks like she’s trying to work out an exit strategy for when she needs to flee the scene. She might have forgotten that she can just teleport away.

Eve moves in closer so she can speak into Villanelle’s ear without anybody hearing her over the loud music. It has the added benefit that Villanelle’s attention is fully on her again.

“You like when I’m like this. You want me to be bad.” She husks. She knows she’s putting it on a bit thick, but she’s had too much alcohol to be eloquent and judging from Villanelle’s reaction, it’s working anyway.

“Fuck, yes. I do.”

Eve feels emboldened by a heady combination of alcohol and the feeling of control - of having the upper hand in this. She has the sudden urge to quit their stupid dance and push Villanelle against the wall. Instead she pushes a bit more with her words.

“That’s fucked up.”

Villanelle laughs menacingly. “Of course it’s fucked up. I don’t care. All these people around us, they would be appalled by what I’ve done. What I want to do. They’d call me an animal and lock me in a cage.” Of course she’ll always choose fight over flight. Eve isn’t surprised, she was waiting for it.

“Animals don’t belong in cages.” Eve says matter-of-factly. “You’re supposed to be dancing by the way.” She adds when she notices that Villanelle had stopped moving her feet again. “Move your hips like this.” Eve pronounces her hip movement while Villanelle watches intently.

“That’s good.” Eve praises her when she mirrors Eve’s movements.

“Yeah?”

“Yes” Eve nods distractedly, focused on the movement of Villanelle’s hips, the way the silver dress sparkles as it flows around her curves. “Very good.”

“Maybe dancing isn’t so bad after all.” Villanelle admits. “But I could still think of some more enjoyable things to spend the evening doing.” She moves backwards and leans her back against the wall smiling suggestively. This time Eve gives into that urge and steps forward until their chests are almost touching. She places her hands against the wall on either side of Villanelle’s hips. It reminds her of their first meeting in her kitchen, but now their roles are reversed.

“And what would those be?” Eve asks.

“Oh, Eve, I think you know exactly what those are.”

They’re so close, yet neither of them makes a move to touch the other, because if they did they would break the illusion. It’s a silent understanding that they just stay a little longer in this moment _before_ , this moment where they can still believe that in the next one their bodies will meet and they will feel each other’s heat when Eve presses Villanelle against the wall and Villanelle pushes back to regain some control, but mainly just to be closer, closer, closer…

“Are you ok, Eve?” someone asks behind Eve.

“What?” Eve asks even though she understood the question perfectly fine.

“Are you ok?” Hugo asks her with a concerned look. “Do you need some fresh air? Here, drink some water.” He hands her a water bottle and Eve takes a swig just to have some time to collect her thoughts. It dawns on her that bracing herself against the wall like she did might look a little concerning from an outside perspective.

“I’m fine. Thanks, Hugo. I was just taking a little break from dancing.”

“You sure?”

“I’m sure, really.”

“Ok, good. I was going to head home now. Do you want me to bring you home?”

“Didn’t find anyone to join you?” Eve asks.

“I did, actually.” He nods towards a small brunette woman standing nearby focused on her phone. “But if you want me to bring you home I can just give her my number instead. It’s fine.”

“No, no, I’ll be alright. I can get home on my own. You go ahead.”

“Really?”

“Really.”

“Ok. Cool. See you tomorrow then.”

“Alright. Have fun. Bye, Hugo.”

“Bye, Eve.”

“Do you want to find someone to bring home, too?” Villanelle asks behind her.

“No. I just want to go home with you. Let’s go.”

She decides to take a taxi home. Her exhaustion coupled with too much alcohol is taking its effects on the ride home. She fumbles with the keys a bit at the front door and basically stumbles up the stairs.

“Are you ok?” Villanelle asks as she follows Eve to the bedroom.

“Yeah, just tired.” Eve mumbles as she searches for her sleep shorts and shirt. “Maybe a bit drunk.” She lifts her hand and puts her thumb and index finger together with a small gap to indicate the amount.

“Maybe a bit more?” Villanelle suggests.

Eve widens the gap a bit, squinting through it at Villanelle. “Yeeah, ok. Maaybe a bit. But I had fun though. Did you have fun?” Eve asks while she reaches her arm up her back to open the zipper of her dress.

“I guess.”

Eve manages to grab the zipper and pull it down.

“Don’t you want to-“ Before Villanelle can finish her thought, Eve’s dress slides down her body onto the floor. Eve, in matching black underwear, takes a step forward out of the dress.

“I really enjoyed dancing with you.” Eve approaches Villanelle slowly.

“Yeah, me too. Well not so much the dancing.” Villanelle moves backwards until she hits the wall. “Aren’t you tired, though?”

“Not really anymore. You’re very distracting in that dress.”

“Thanks”

“Maybe you should take it off”

“Yeah, maybe pajamas are more appropriate.”

“I don’t really want you to be appropriate right now.” Eve places her hands against the wall like she did earlier. Villanelle’s eyes are flicking back and forth over her body, before she averts her gaze to a spot somewhere above Eve’s head.

“Oookay. Time to go to bed.” Villanelle says decidedly and pushes forward suddenly passing through Eve and putting some distance between them. It takes Eve a second to realize that Villanelle is behind her now - long enough for Villanelle to switch into silk pajama bottoms and a cozy oversized t-shirt.

“You think I’m doing this because I’m drunk.” Eve says sulkily as she gets into bed.

“I know you’re doing this because you’re drunk.” Villanelle starts walking towards the chair in the corner hesitantly.

“Can you please not sit in the chair again all night?”

“Ok…” Villanelle stops in her tracks and turns towards Eve, her hands fiddling with the hem of her shirt.

“Just- would you just lay down with me?” Eve asks patting the empty bed next to her. “At least until I’m asleep? I won’t do anything stupid, I promise.”

“Oh, yeah, ok.” Villanelle walks over to the empty side of the bed and lies down placing her hands over her stomach. Eve turns off the lights, then faces Villanelle, regards her profile in the dim moonlight. Her eyes get heavier as her thoughts drift back to the club. She imagines a life where they aren’t a ghost of a dead assassin and an intelligence agent, but just two regular people. Maybe they would have just met at a club one day, had one night together and never would have seen each other again. Or maybe they would be living together in this house, sleeping next to each other every night.

“Goodnight Eve” Villanelle’s soft voice drifts through her hazy mind.

“Night, baby” Eve whispers in her dream.


	8. Sounds cozy

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Welcome back! (Is anybody still reading this?) It's been a while since my last update, but I haven't forgotten about this story.

Eve wakes up feeling warm and extremely comfortable. She doesn’t even have a headache that usually follows the sort of liquor intake she had last night. Slowly blinking her eyes open against the morning sun pouring in through the window, the first thing she sees is a slender hand next to her face on the pillow. It isn’t her hand.

“Villanelle?” she croaks, voice still rough from sleep. The hand in front of her twitches. Then she hears a little squeak. It comes from very close by, in fact it sounds like it comes from inside her head.

“Morning” the blonde’s voice mumbles and it hums through her skull.

“Villanelle, are you…? Where exactly are you?”

“I’m right here… oh.”

“Are you inside of me?”

Villanelle gives a dirty snort.

”You know what I mean”

“Yeah… uhm… I guess I must have rolled over… in my sleep” Villanelle says hesitantly.

“I thought you couldn’t sleep.”

“I thought so, too. I was never tired, so I never tried. I guess I _can_ fall asleep, I just don’t _have to_ sleep.”

“Interesting.”

“Does it still feel like sunlight?” Villanelle’s voice is suddenly soft.

“More like a heat blanket, from inside.”

“Sounds cozy.” Silence falls over them as they both just lie there, sharing the same space. “You’re very noisy.” Villanelle breaks the silence before Eve falls back asleep.

“Excuse me?”

“It’s just… I can hear your whole body from here. Your heartbeat, your blood rushing through your veins. Your bowels”

“Ok” Eve says uncomfortably.

“No. I like it. I never really noticed how much was going on in my body, until it wasn’t there anymore. Now everything is so still and quiet all the time. But your body is… it’s so… alive.”

“I wish I could hear your heartbeat, too.” Eve says into the quiet. Villanelle exhales shakily.

“Me, too.” Villanelle shifts over to the side of Eve’s body and Eve shivers. It feels like a bucket of ice water is thrown over her when Villanelle leaves her body. Villanelle props herself up on one arm and looks Eve up and down pensively. Eve is suddenly very aware of her own body, and aware of the same excitement she felt last night at the club rising inside of her again.

“Do you still want to touch me?” Eve asks. Villanelle nods.

“But I can’t”

“Let me then. You’d start with the hair, right?” Eve asks and runs her hand through her hair, shaking out her curls so they fall over the pillow more freely. “Then my jaw, my lips” she traces a finger along her face and over her mouth, dipping inside a little and moistening it.

“Eve” The desperation in Villanelle’s voice further emboldens Eve.

“My neck, then” she touches her neck and traces her hand down, slowly. “And then…” she trails off as her hand brushes over her breast. She watches how Villanelle’s eyes trace every movement. She squeezes her breast, plays with both breasts through her shirt until her thighs clench.

“Lower” Villanelle whispers roughly and Eve complies guiding her hand over her stomach, goosebumps forming on the way, until she reaches her sleep shorts. She dips in and out of the waistband with her fingertips. Villanelle is transfixed by the movement.

“Lower” she repeats and Eve slides her hand into her shorts and into her panties. Her hips buck at the first contact.

“Come here” she motions for Villanelle with her free hand. Villanelle leans down, her face hovering over hers until she feels warmth on her lips and the tip of her nose. She’s rubbing firm circles over her clit, her breathing becoming more labored with each second. It feels good, but it’s not enough.

“I need you. Fuck. _Villanelle_ ” Eve pants.

“I’m here. I’m right here” Villanelle whispers into her mouth and then warmth spreads around her bellybutton and lower, lower, until Villanelle’s hand mingles with Eve’s.

“Yes” Eve moans. “So good”

Villanelle’s face moves away a tiny bit so Eve can look into her eyes. They’re full of want and something else that looks an awful lot like pain. “You’re so pretty, Eve, so pretty.” Villanelle whispers. “Are you gonna come for me?”

“Yes” Her hips buck and then she’s coming and this time she doesn’t have to imagine green eyes, they’re right there, staring into her soul. She lifts her head to collide with soft lips, but there’s nothing there to stop her movement, just the faintest tingle on her lips.

***

It’s bittersweet, the way she finally got a taste, a shadow of what she had desired for so long without being able to have it all. She wants it all. She wants.

Definitely more sweet than bitter though how she’s still sensitive when she washes herself in the shower afterwards. Sweet how she has to tell Villanelle to wait outside so she can get ready in time for work. Sweet how Villanelle beams at her from the other side of the kitchen table while she has breakfast. Sweet how they keep playfully bumping into and through each other on the way to work. Just a tiny bitter aftertaste whenever there’s air instead of a solid body when she leans into Villanelle, but she doesn’t let it bother her right now.

She’s smiling, a spring in her step when she gets to the office. Everyone is already there, because Eve did end up being a little bit late after all.

Hugo, Tess and Kenny look up from the same monitor in unison and when they see Eve, Hugo raises his eyebrows and Tess smirks at her.

“You look like you had a good night?” Tess says.

“What? Yeah, I guess I slept well”

“Just slept?” Tess teases.

“I don’t know what Hugo told you. But I didn’t take anybody home last night, if that’s what you’re insinuating.”

“I didn’t say anything.” Hugo raises his hands to underline his innocence. “But I have to agree with Tess. You do look rather radiant. Don’t you think so, too, Kenny?”

“I, uhm, I don’t know” Kenny mumbles and turns back to the screen quickly. “I finished Hugo’s undercover identity last night, Eve. We were just going over it.”

“Thank you, Kenny” Eve says while she gives the other two a pointed look. “Let’s have a look” she says while making her way over, standing behind the trio to look at the screen as well.

“Good job. At least one person in this team is focused on work.” She adds.

“Because you surely weren’t this morning” Villanelle husks into Eve’s ear, suddenly close behind her, and Eve nearly jumps, the hairs on her neck standing up.

“Give me a rundown of the profile?” Eve directs at Kenny, her voice slightly elevated.

“Tim Evans, 29 years old. Studied economics and marketing. He has a successful start-up with a lifestyle and fitness app.”

“Sounds very good”

“That’s never going to work” Villanelle chimes in before Eve has finished her compliment.

Eve tries to glance at her as discreetly as possible and gives her a confused look.

“That’s not going to work. Trust me, Eve, I’ve known and successfully charmed dozens of guys like Peele. This profile you created couldn’t be more unappealing to Peele. Plus I’ve snooped around at his place a bit, so I know what he likes.”

“You what?!” Eve shrieks and everyone turns around to her. “Uhh, I need to- I’ll go grab a coffee real quick. Be right back.”

She hurries to the coffee kitchen and closes the door behind her and Villanelle.

“You what?!” she repeats quieter, but sterner.

“Yesterday morning I paid him a visit in his house and watched him a little” Villanelle shrugs nonchalantly.

“Are you serious?! You can’t just stalk people.”

“Oh, come on. He’s a murderer. And if you knew what I saw there, you wouldn’t be concerned about his privacy"

“Why didn’t you tell me what you found until now then?”

“I was going to when I visited you for lunch, but I was kind of distracted by your crying and then later you were drunk and this morning I was distracted by other things, again.” Villanelle wriggles her eyebrows at the last part.

Eve sighs. “Ok, alright. Well, what did you find?”

“So he was sitting in his office and at first he was just doing some stupid business stuff. I snooped around his house a bit, but his book collection is even more boring than yours. When I came back to his office, he was on the phone. He said something like `If the product is to my satisfaction, you will receive the rest of the money by the end of the day’. Then he copied a folder from a link he got send and when he opened the folder there was a video. The video was of a young woman. It showed her being murdered, practically dismembered. Pretty sloppy work, if you ask me, but Peele seemed to enjoy it.”

“Holy shit. Did he… you know?”

“Jack off? No, he didn’t touch himself, just had this weird smile on his face the whole time. He watched the video like three times, before he saved it into a new folder. There seemed to be a lot more videos.”

“Fuck. He’s a much sicker prick then I thought. Maybe we shouldn’t send Hugo into this.”

“Definitely not with this profile. Peele is a control freak and a narcissist. He doesn’t want an intellectual equal, he wants someone he can intimidate and feel superior to.”

“I think you’re right. Maybe we have to think the whole thing over. We just need someone in Rome with him that can get us intel about this damn weapons sale. If we could just-“ Eve abruptly stops talking with wide eyes and smacks her forehead. “I’m so stupid. Why didn’t I think of that before?”

“Of what?”

“Why do I need someone to go undercover, when I have something even better?” Eve gives her a mischievous smile. “You.”

***

“So did I understand this right? You want to go to Rome on your own and you can guarantee me that you can get me the information, but you can’t tell me how?” Carolyn asks incredulously.

“Exactly” Eve confirms, sitting straighter to appear more confident in front of Carolyn’s massive desk.

“That’s a lot of trust to put into someone on such an important mission.”

“I know”

“And you do realize, if anything goes wrong, you’re on your own. I won’t be able to protect you.”

“I’m aware. I promise everything will be fine.”

Carolyn sighs, regarding her perfectly arranged assortment of cacti for a moment.

“Ok”

“Really?” Eve didn’t expect Carolyn to agree so easily.

“Yes. I will make sure you get a business class flight to Rome.” She smiles at Eve. “And back, of course.”

“Uhm. Ok. That’s great. Thank you for trusting me.”

“Good luck in Rome, Eve.”


	9. Just take, take, take

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The second part of the chapter gets quite explicit, just fyi

„Let’s race up.”

“What? No.”

“Come on. Three, two-“

“No”

“One, GO!” Villanelle starts running up the stairs, easily dodging the tourists on the way, even though she could just run through them if she wanted to. Eve trots after her unenthusiastically. Villanelle waits for Eve on the first landing, spurring her on from above.

“Piss off” Eve scoffs when she reaches the landing and Villanelle cheers excitedly.

Eve takes a moment to take in her surroundings. The Spanish Steps are a beautiful sight, but they would be much more enjoyable without the heaps of tourists occupying them. And if it weren’t so bloody hot on them. The sun is high in the cloudless sky and is still surprisingly powerful even though the trees are already changing colors. She wishes she had worn shorts instead of long jeans. Villanelle, even though she can’t even feel the heat, had ‘changed’ into a pair of tiny jean shorts and a flowery sleeveless blouse.

“Ok, second chance to the top.”

“Stop it. It’s a million degrees in the sun. I’m lucky if I even make it to the top.”

“Don’t sell yourself short, Eve. You’re very fit for your age.”

“I’m going to kill you… again.”

“Gotta catch me first.” Villanelle calls over her shoulder as she races up the next flight of stairs.

Eve catches up with her a few minutes later.

“0-2. You lose.”

“I didn’t even race you.”

“Don’t be a sore loser, Eve. Look there’s ice cream.” Villanelle points to a small ice cream truck. Eve walks to the truck and buys a bottle of water to Villanelle’s disappointment.

“The view is worth the effort at least.” Eve admits as she walks back over to the railing and looks over the city.

“Oh, we’re not there yet.”

“What?”

“There’s a park a bit further up the street that has an even nicer view. And better atmosphere.”

“How much further is ‘a bit’?” Eve inquires dread in her voice.

“Not that much. I promise it’s worth it.”

It is quite a bit farther, at least it feels like that to Eve in the hot midday sun. Sweat is running down her back and her forehead when they finally reach the cooler shade of the trees in the park. Villanelle was right though, the view over the city is even better from here and there are fewer tourists around.

They walk over to a stone railing at the edge of the hill that leads down steeply into the city center and take in the view.

“Did I promise too much?” Villanelle asks leaning forward, her hands placed on the stone.

“No, this is amazing.”

Villanelle smiles softly at her.

“This reminds me a bit of the view from Primrose Hill in London. We should go there when we get back. We could have a picnic.” Eve muses.

“That sounds nice.” Villanelle’s voice cracks a bit. She seems thoughtful as she looks over the mosaic of buildings from a multitude of eras of human civilization.

“Are you alright?” Eve asks. She places a comforting hand into Villanelle’s on the stone.

“It’s just…” Villanelle closes her eyes for a moment and takes a slow, deep breath. “I didn’t win fair. I don’t get out of breath, I don’t feel the heat, my muscles don’t get tired…”

“You would have won anyway. And I don’t mind if you’re faster than me.” Eve reassures her. Eve knows her well enough by now to know this is just Villanelle’s way to skirt around the real issue.

Villanelle turns to her then. “I barely remember what it was like. The longer I’m like this, the more I forget. And I feel like… I feel like I’m being pulled away. Like the only thing that is holding me here… is you.”

There’s a pang in Eve’s chest at her words. A fear she has tried to bury in the back of her mind is hitting her full force. She has to look away from the blonde.

“Do you want to…” she’s searching for the right word. ”… let go?”

“No!” Villanelle takes a step closer. “I don’t want to lose you. I don’t want to lose myself.” 

Eve can feel that there is more coming and so she keeps quiet letting Villanelle sort through her thoughts. When she speaks again, it’s so quiet Eve can barely hear her.

“But… maybe… I should… let go.”

“Why?! Just stay with me if you don’t want to leave.” Eve almost pleads. Villanelle’s eyes are fixed on their tangled hands on the railing.

“I don’t want to…” Villanelle trails off. “Is this enough for you?” Villanelle asks instead.

And no, it isn’t. It isn’t enough to feel the hard stone, when her hand should be resting on top of Villanelle’s soft one- when she should be able to feel slender fingers squeeze her own. It isn’t enough to hear the blonde’s voice when she leans in to whisper something in her ear, but not feel her warm breath on her skin. It isn’t enough when Villanelle is lying in bed next to her and she wants nothing more but to lean into her, to wrap her arms around her and hold her, to be engulfed by her scent when she falls asleep against her chest.

But here they are. And Eve knows there’s nothing else – no one else – she wants. It’s this or nothing for her. And it’s Eve’s fault after all that they are in this predicament. It’s a fate of her own making.

“It has to be.”

It’s not the answer Villanelle was hoping for - Eve can see it on her face. But it’s all she can give her right now.

***

When they get back to the hotel, it’s late afternoon and Aaron just arrived in Rome. Villanelle keeps teleporting between Aaron’s house and the hotel room and when the first potenial buyers arrive she listens in on their negotiations over dinner and reports everything back to Eve as precisely as she can remember and Eve writes it all down. When the buyers leave and Aaron goes to bed, Eve sits at the small table in her hotel room and goes over the transcripts, looking for anything useful that could get them closer to the weapon.

“Eve” Villanelle’s voice sounds from somewhere behind her.

“Mmh” Eve says absentmindedly as she goes over the transcripts once more.

“Baby” Villanelle tries again in a deeper voice. That gets Eve’s attention. She turns around to find Villanelle lounging on the bed in a light blue satin rope that reveals a wide expanse of skin between her breasts almost to her navel. Her fingers are playing with the loosely tied belt. Her hair cascades around her shoulders in soft waves.

“I have to-“ Eve gestures vaguely at the notes behind her on the desk unable to take her eyes off the blonde.

“You have to let yourself go every once in a while” Villanelle purrs.

“We’re on a mission.” Eve replies weakly.

“Everybody is asleep. Nothing will happen until tomorrow when the next buyers arrive. You need to relax, you’re way too stressed out. Let me help you.” At the last words Villanelle tucks on the belt until the rope opens revealing even more skin. Eve holds her breath. _If Villanelle moves forward just a little_ , Eve thinks, just as the blonde does exactly that, which causes the rope to slip from her sides, exposing her bare breasts and lacy black panties.

 _It’s good to know gravity still works on ghosts_ is Eve’s last thought before her mind short-circuits as the throbbing between her legs becomes all she can focus on. “Fuck” she breathes out.

“Come on” Villanelle pats the bed beside her and Eve is already up and across the room before she makes a conscious decision to move. She stops in front of the bed, unsure.

“Do you want this, Eve?” Villanelle questions.

“Yes” Eve answers without missing a beat.

“What do you want?”

“I-“ Eve tries to concentrate on what exactly she wants this to be. “I want you to tell me what to do.”

Villanelle smiles reassuringly, nods. “Take off your clothes. I want to see you.”

Eve complies pulling her shirt over her head, then pulling down her pants. She continues with her bra and her panties until she is standing before Villanelle completely naked.

Villanelle takes in her body. “You’re beautiful. Come here”

She pats the bed again and Eve climbs on it, lying on her back next to Villanelle. Villanelle shimmies out of her rope completely and then moves to straddle Eve. Her hips are hovering over Eve’s as she leans over her, one hand on the head board behind Eve for support. They stay like this for a moment, quietly taking in each other’s body.

Villanelle moves her free hand between her own legs. Long fingers press into the lace and start circling. Eve’s frozen watching the woman above her.

“Are you just going to watch?” Villanelle raises an eyebrow at her.

“I-“

“Touch yourself like I do.” Villanelle instructs. Eve places a hand on her clit and mirrors Villanelle’s motions, stroking when Villanelle strokes, circling when Villanelle circles. After a while Villanelle takes her hand away from her own center and joins Eve’s hand, their fingers moving in harmony. The tension in Eve’s body is rising and her legs shake as she gets closer and closer.

“Stop” Villanelle whispers in her ear, soft but assertive.

It takes Eve a moment, but she does as she is told and both their hands still.

“I don’t want you to come, yet. Not so fast. I want to see you fall apart.” Eve whines at the words.

“Are you wet enough to push two fingers inside?” Villanelle asks.

“God, yes” Eve manages.

“Do it, then.”

Eve doesn’t have to be told twice, slipping her middle and ring finger in easily.

“Fuck yourself, slowly.” Eve’s hips and fingers start moving as she strokes her inner walls, pacing herself as Villanelle instructed.

Villanelle joins Eve’s hand with hers again. She starts moving her body in rhythm with Eve’s. Eve’s walls clench at the sight of Villanelle’s breasts swaying above her.

She starts playing with her own breasts with her free hand, the tension building again.

“Does it feel good?”

“Yes”

“Can you take more?”

“Fuck, yes.”

“Add another finger” Villanelle looks down to watch Eve insert another digit.

“You’re doing so good, Eve. I wish I could fuck you with a strap-on.” Villanelle says hoarsely. “I bet you would love it. I bet you would take everything I would give you. Just take, take, take.”

Eve groans, her hips grinding faster now, her clit brushing against her palm. Her fingers are making obscene sounds as she pushes them deep inside, hitting her sensitive spot over and over. She imagines they’re Villanelle’s fingers that are fucking her into the bed.

“And right before you would come I would…“

Instead of finishing her thought Villanelle moves her hand from the head board and places it around Eve’s throat. Eve’s hand immediately moves from her breasts to her neck to join Villanelle’s. She squeezes like she imagines Villanelle would. Stars appear before her eyes and her vision swims. All she can focus on are Villanelle’s blown pupils - black holes, no light at the end of the tunnel. Eve wants to step into them, be engulfed by the darkness, deeper and deeper, until she can’t find her way back out.

Her hands tingle and her grip slacks. Blood rushes into her head making her vision explode, just like the rest of her body, when she comes hard on her fingers. Villanelle watches transfixed as Eve gasps and twitches beneath her.

It takes a while until Eve has control over her body again. When she does, she pulls her fingers out with a whimper guiding them to her mouth and tasting herself.

“I wish you could taste me.” She says to Villanelle with a cheeky, spent grin.

“You’re the most beautiful woman I have ever seen.” Villanelle says dreamily.

“Don’t go sappy on me now.”

“It’s your fault. You’re too perfect.”

“Stop. You’re ruining your reputation.” Eve says, but she’s smiling wider now.

“I’d rather ruin you.” Villanelle says with a wink.

“There you go. I almost thought I broke you.” Eve chuckles.

Villanelle chuckles, too. “Don’t worry, I’m not that easy to break.” She climbs off Eve and settles next to her. She glances at the clock on the bedside table. “You should really sleep now. This mission is important. You have to take your job more seriously, Eve.”

“You’re insufferable.” Eve groans. She tries to settle down and make herself comfortable, but can’t quite find the right position. She glances at Villanelle next to her.

“Can I…?” Eve starts, but trails off. She doesn’t know if what she wants to ask would offend Villanelle.

“What?” Villanelle asks encouragingly.

“It was so comfortable when you… the other night. I was wondering if I could… scoot over to you?”

“Oh” Villanelle breathes. “Oh. Yes, I’d like that.” Villanelle lies down flat on her back and watches Eve scoot closer and closer.

“Eve” Villanelle can’t help but whisper when Eve’s body slides into her.

Eve lets out a contented sigh as her body relaxes at the warmth spreading through her. She drifts off to sleep almost instantly.

***

Despite the comfort of Villanelle’s presence Eve’s sleep is uneasy. Her dreams are plaguing her, mixing with memories:

_“You can’t go alone. It’s too dangerous.” she remembers Kenny pleading with her before she left for Rome._

_“I won’t be alone” Eve tells him._

_“She can’t help you when things go wrong” Kenny tries again, but Eve won’t listen._

_…_

_Jess approaches her in the office. “Did you fill out the pre-mission report?”_

_“No. Carolyn said I didn’t need to.”_

_“Eve, there’s something fishy about this. Just because Carolyn thinks it’s a good idea doesn’t mean that it is.” Jess says, but Eve won’t listen._

_…_

_The office fades away and Eve finds herself standing at the bottom of the Spanish Steps. The sun shines down on her from atop the stairs and she has to squint against the bright light to look up. She can make out Villanelle at the top of the stairs. She’s in a long, lacy black dress, her hair bound in a low pony tail, her red lips smiling down at Eve. She stretches out her hand towards Eve._

_“Catch up, Eve. Hurry” Villanelle calls to her._

_Eve starts running up the stairs, but she doesn’t seem to get any closer to the blonde. When she’s out of breath, she stops to look around and realizes she’s still at the bottom of the stairs. She falls to her knees, exhausted. Villanelle chuckles and shrugs, before she turns and disappears into the blinding light._


	10. With or Without You

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It's been 3000 years since I last updated this story. I was sort of stuck on this chapter (I didn't realize how bad I am at writing plot heavy chapters because I've never done it before) and just needed a break from writing in general. Last chapter will be up soon, though.
> 
> Heads-up: there's a lot of violence and drama (don't want to spoil anything) in this one.

“Waky, waky…” a voice purrs into Eve’s ear as she buries deeper into the pillow.

“Eve, wake up!” The change in tone in Villanelle’s voice rustles her awake a little more.

“What…?” she grumbles as she blinks against the first rays of the morning sun peaking through the curtains to see Villanelle pacing at the side of the bed impatiently.

“It’s Konstantin! He’s here!” Villanelle stops in front of Eve, her hands waving indistinctly around the room.

Eve peaks up at that and finally sits up in the bed. “Konstantin? Here?”

“Yes. He’s with Peele right now.”

“What? Why?”

“He’s working for the Twelve again - I told you before. Of course they would want to buy Aaron’s weapon.”

“Right. Ok. He’s there right now?” Eve’s fully awake now.

“Yes”

“Then what are you doing here?! We need to know what they’re discussing”

“I wanted to tell you” Villanelle answers a little bit offended.

“Ok, well, you did. Now go back. And try to remember everything they say and-“

“And report it back to you as accurately as possible. I know, I know…”

“Go, now”

“Ok, Eve. So bossy” Villanelle smirks. “I like it.”

“Go!”

Villanelle winks and then disappears, leaving Eve a messy bundle of nerves on the hotel bed.

Villanelle comes back almost an hour later.

“Ok” she takes a deep, exaggerated breath “so, the first few minutes they basically had a dick measuring contest about who has more information bla, bla, bla… and then Aaron finally made an offer to which Konstantin responded a bit grumbly – you know how he is -… there was some back and forth, but in the end, they agreed on a price. Aaron told Konstantin he would receive the weapon once the money arrives on his account and that he keeps it safe until then. They talked some more about the weather or something and then Konstantin left.”

Eve stares at her after she finishes scribbling down what Villanelle had reported. “That’s the most accurate account you can give me?”

“What? It’s all the important information. The rest was just bullshit. Trust me. I know these kinds of meetings.”

Eve sighs. “Alright. So Aaron said he would ‘keep it safe’?”

“Yeah”

“What could that mean?”

Villanelle shrugs. “Maybe that he put it in his safe?”

“He has a safe?”

“Yeah. It’s in his office. I saw it yesterday.”

“And you didn’t mention this, because…?”

“Because it wasn’t relevant until now? And because every rich person has a safe, I didn’t know that that is special information I need to reveal.”

Eve takes a deep breath.

“What is it even? We know it’s some kind of surveillance program, but what does it look like? Like a hard drive or something? Did they mention anything about that?”

“No. No idea.”

“Great. So what are we going to do now?” Eve asks, frustrated.

“Now we go back to London and you give Carolyn the information you gathered?”

“And until then the Twelve will have acquired a dangerous weapon that will give them a huge advantage over us in the future. No. We’re here now. The weapon is here now. This might be the only chance to prevent the Twelve from acquiring it.”

“So what? You just want to walk into Aaron’s villa on your own and steal the weapon from him?”

Eve smiles mischievously. “That’s a great idea.”

“That was a joke, Eve.”

“No, that’s exactly what I’m going to do. I’ll just have to become invisible”

“Oh, you want to become a ghost now, too? It’s not as fun as it looks” Villanelle huffs.

“No, better. I’ll become service staff. Completely invisible.” She says as she rummages in her suitcase and pulls out a maid uniform.

“Did you pack that for the job or something else?” Villanelle wriggles her eyebrows for a moment, but quickly turns stern again when Eve ignores her. “Ok, never mind. That is an insane idea, Eve! Aaron knows what you look like”

“That’s where you come into play. You’ll just look ahead and make sure I stay away from Aaron.”

“What… what about the safe? Are you a master safe cracker now, too?”

“I… we’ll cross that bridge when we get there”

“Eve-“

“I have to try, I have to…” Eve paces as her voice becomes desperate.

“You have to what?!” Villanelle questions sharply.

“I have to do something right.” Eve presses out.

“Not this, not-“

“I can handle it. Ok? Now, are you going to help me or not?”

“I don’t like this.”

“I don’t care. I will do this. With or without you.”

Villanelle balls her hands into fists. “Of course I’ll help you. I won’t leave you”

Eve looks at the blonde and her features soften. “Thank you”

***

Eve can’t believe her plan actually worked – so far. Dressed as a maid she’s made it through the service entrance into the villa, where Villanelle showed her the way to Peele’s office all the while making sure they wouldn’t run into Aaron along the way. Now Eve is standing in front of Aaron’s safe, surprised by her own genius, not that she would let Villanelle know – and slightly terrified.

“So…” she hears Villanelle exhale behind her. “How are you planning to crack that safe?”

Eve turns to her with measured confidence. “Maybe we can find a clue to the combination in his desk?” she offers.

“Sure. Or maybe just try 1, 2, 3, 4?”

“Ha ha”

“That is indeed hilarious” a male voice draws Eve’s attention to the door, which just closes and clicks shut behind Aaron Peele. “Thinking I leave my safe combination on a post-it note on my desk. Almost as funny as thinking you could just walk in here unnoticed. Then again, you are talking to yourself, so that might explain some things.”

“Aaron Peele”

“Eve Polastri. May I ask what you are doing in my office? Do you have a search warrant?”

“I’m here to… to arrest you.” Eve says coolly and internally curses her poor improvisation skills.

“Arrest me?” Aaron laughs drily. “For what?”

“Murdering your father for starters.” Eve tries to keep her voice from trembling, even though her heart is hammering in her chest.

“Oh, is that so?”

“Yes, that is so.”

“I know you’re here all alone, Eve. I know a lot more than you think.”

“He’s got a knife behind his back, Eve” Villanelle, who’s circled Aaron while they were talking, warns.

Eve looks around frantically to find a way out or a weapon to defend herself with and eventually her eyes land on a metal paper weight on the nearby desk. She makes a move for it, but Aaron is faster, grabbing her from behind. She feels the knife dig into the flesh above her right hip, while his forearm presses into her windpipe.

“You won’t get out of here” he whispers into her ear. Eve struggles against his hold to no avail. She can hear Villanelle cursing and then she sees her from the corner of her eye flailing against Aaron’s body.

“Try to turn, Eve! Get your arms into his hold.” Villanelle instructs urgently.

“I can’t… I can’t breathe…” Eve only manages to move her head a fraction in Aaron’s vice hold. But she can see Villanelle fully now and their eyes lock. Eve thinks once again that she can feel Villanelle’s presence from across the room, feels it cursing through her veins, stronger than ever and then Villanelle charges forward with a scream.

Aaron stumbles, just a little, but it’s enough for Eve to press forward and grab the paper weight from the desk, swinging it back blindly. It connects with Aaron’s temple and Eve manages to turn and hits him square across the face once more. He falls backwards, unconscious, the knife clanking to the floor.

Eve takes out zipties from her pocket and shackles Aaron’s hands to the heater at the wall beside his desk. He comes to only moments later blinking in confusion and then smiling at Eve in appreciation.

“I didn’t think you had it in you” he says.

“You have to kill him, Eve” Villanelle urges beside her. “He’s going to come after you if you don’t.”

Eve picks up the knife from the floor and weighs it in her hand. She points it at Aaron.

“Tell me where the weapon is.”

He laughs indignantly. “It’s not here. Do you think I’m stupid enough to hide it in my office? Come on.”

“Where is it then?”

“You’re never going to get to it. You and your stupid little organization are irrelevant.”

“I’m going to kill you” Eve threatens.

“Maybe you should. Because if you don’t I’m going to find you. And I’m going to slice open your pretty little throat.”

Villanelle takes a step forward. “Kill him” she growls.

“Or you could work for me” Aaron suggests. “I can pay you much better than any government organization ever could. And I’m sure we’d have a lot more fun together, too.”

Eve laughs indignantly. “You think I want to work for a pathetic little sociopath like you?” she snarls.

“I’ve heard you have a thing for pathetic little sociopaths.”

The grip tightens around the knife in Eve’s hand and a moment later it plunges into Aaron’s gut, drawing a surprised gasp from his lips. Eve pulls it out and watches the blood drip from the blade onto the marble floor.

“Again” she hears Villanelle instruct next to her. “Again”

The blade moves almost on its own accord, this time penetrating the flesh between Aaron’s lower ribs at his side and then again higher in his chest. He starts gurgling, blood spurting from his mouth with every ragged exhale.

Eve takes a step back. She turns to Villanelle for comfort, reassurance, something, but the blonde’s gaze is fixed on Aaron. So Eve follows her gaze and looks, really looks. His eyes are open wide and are focused somewhere far behind Eve. Eve looks into them and she thinks she can see further than ever before.

“Can you see it?” Villanelle whispers.

Eve’s hand finds Villanelle’s at her side without averting her gaze. “Yes” she whispers.

“It’s beautiful, isn’t it?”

“It’s-“ Eve doesn’t have a word for what she is seeing, doesn’t think there is one.

Eve watches the last flickers of life in Aaron’s eyes, a smile grazing his features just before they go slack and his head drops forward onto his bloodied chest.

Eve turns to Villanelle again and this time the blonde looks back at her with a serene look on her face. Eve’s body is shaking, but she doesn’t care. She feels relieved.

“Well done” Villanelle gives her a reassuring smile.

The pair stays like that for a while, looking at each other, until finally Villanelle tears her eyes away and towards the door.

“We should get out of here. I’ll check if the coast is clear.” She disappears only to reappear a moment later – panicked.

“You have to get out of here, Eve. You have to hide. Now!” she’s shouting at Eve, but before Eve can even move a muscle the door opens.

Carolyn steps into the room.

“Ah, Eve, there you are. Good.” Her eyes flick from Eve to the body behind her. “Oh”

“It’s- I- He tried to kill me.” Eve stutters.

“Ah, yes. How convenient. Although it would be a little more believable if he wasn’t shackled to the heater.” She steps forward a bit and inspects the body. “But it doesn’t really matter. We’ll deal with it. Won’t we?” She asks turning towards the door just as Konstantin steps through it.

“I’m sure your team will manage it.” He says.

“Konstantin” Villanelle mutters and takes a step towards him, but he sees right through her to Carolyn.

She nods. “Yes. A simple story, but tragic, really. An MI6 agent gone rogue, going off on her own and getting in over her head.”

“What?” “What?!” Eve and Villanelle ask in unison.

Carolyn turns to Eve again. “I’m really sorry. I wish it could be different. But… you’ve sort of forced my hand here.”

“I… I don’t understand. You sent me here.”

“I didn’t send you here to kill him. I never sent you anywhere to kill anyone. And still somehow people end up dead, wherever you go.”

“I-“ Eve tries but Carolyn cuts her off.

“Did you really think you were the only horse I had in this race? Did you really think I would trust you on this pivotal mission, even though I couldn’t even trust you to tell me the truth about the fate of one of the most wanted assassins?”

“But you trust him?” Eve asks incredulously nodding at Konstantin.

“Maybe trust is not the right word. But we were able to rely on each other more than once in the past.”

“He works for the Twelve!”

“Not anymore. Not after today.” Konstantin interjects.

“That’s what you offered him? A way out?” Eve asks Carolyn.

“Yes. For him and his family. And in return he would give me intel on the Twelve, secure this weapon for us and deal with Aaron Peele. But looks like you already took care of the last part.”

“That is quite a deal for you.”

“Yes, well, there was one more thing he requested. Believe me it wasn’t easy for me to agree to this. However, unfortunately, things are more complicated than you know. There’s something Konstantin did for me back in the day, in another life so to say, and I still owe him for that. I owe him this.”

“Owe him what?”

“I’m sorry, Eve. It’s nothing personal on my part.” Carolyn says, gives Eve a courteous nod and then leaves the room. Eve moves to follow her, but Konstantin cuts her off, closing the door behind Carolyn.

“What is going on here? Konstantin?”

Konstantin just stands there, looking at Eve for a long moment. Then he reaches into his coat and pulls out a small hand gun, leveling it at Eve.

Eve stumbles back a few steps. “Konstantin?!”

“She was special, you know.” He says his voice shaking slightly. “To me”

Villanelle, who has watched the scene quietly so far, steps between them now. “No, Konstantin, no.” she tries to plead, but he doesn’t hear her.

“You might think she was just a monster, that the world is better off without her, but I knew her better. She was so much more.”

“I know” Eve whispers.

“You killed her” it’s not a question.

“Yes” Eve answers anyway. She meets his gaze steadily. “I understand” she says quietly, calmly.

“NO! No, no, no, no.” Villanelle tries to push and punch at Konstantin’s outstretched arm. “Don’t do it! Why can’t I do it again?! DON’T-“

The rest of her sentence is drowned out by a deafening sound as he fires the gun. The bullet ripples through Villanelle and then Eve is thrown backwards. It feels just like a punch in the gut, she thinks as she falls, hitting the marble floor a moment later.

Villanelle’s face comes into her vision seconds later.

“Eve. Eve. No.” Villanelle wails, trying to cover the gaping wound in Eve’s stomach with her hands, but blood just keeps pouring out of the wound through her pale hands and pooling around Eve.

“It’s okay” Eve chokes. “I had it coming” she tries to smile.

“Don’t move. Someone will come. Someone must have heard the shot. Just hold on.” Villanelle tells her.

“Kiss me? Please?” Eve asks. Villanelle looks around frantically for a moment, but they are all alone. So she focusses back on Eve and leans down carefully.

Eve’s lips warm at the contact.

Villanelle pulls back, desperation written across her face. Eve wants to tell her how cold she is, wants to tell her to come into her body, to warm her once more. But her lips won’t move except for a constant shaking. She has a hard time focusing on the blonde in front of her and it takes her a second to realize that it’s not just her mind that is fading, but Villanelle is fading, too. The flowery wall paper on the opposite wall mixes with Villanelle in Eve’s eyes as her ghost becomes more and more see-through.

“Eve” her voice is distant, barely audible.

Eve’s eyelids are heavy now, falling close for a moment and when they open again, Villanelle is gone. She’s alone. She lets her head drop back down onto the marble floor and closes her eyes one more time. She’s not cold anymore, there’s no pain. Only darkness.


	11. Northern Lights

Eve feels like she is falling, fast. She can’t see or hear anything, can’t move. Time stretches around her in the dark as she loses track of how long she has felt this way. She wonders if she might be falling forever - until suddenly her stomach drops and she is pressed into something soft underneath her. She isn’t lying on the marble floor of Peele’s villa anymore. Maybe she made it to a hospital after all? As she gathers her senses she realizes she doesn’t feel any pain apart from a slight headache. She struggles against the fog in her mind and opens her eyes.

When her eyes finally manage to adjust to the light, to her surprise, the first thing she manages to focus on is Villanelle’s face, right in front of hers. A large bruise is covering most of the right side of her face, her cheek slightly swollen. Villanelle is staring at her with scrutinizing eyes.

“What are you going to do with that?” Villanelle asks quietly.

When Eve just gives her a confused look in response, Villanelle’s gaze drops between their bodies. Eve follows her gaze to find a knife in her own hand, pointed at Villanelle’s abdomen.

“This can’t be…” Eve trails off as the déjà vu hits her.

She surveys her surroundings. It’s not just a déjà vu. She’s back in Villanelle’s Paris apartment. Broken glass and champagne is covering the floor. Her and Villanelle are facing each other on the bed. Everything is just as it was right before Eve plunged the knife into Villanelle’s gut. She looks back at Villanelle who seems to be gauging Eve’s reaction.

Villanelle bites her lip and exhales shakily.

“I know you can.” She says. “So, what are you going to do?”

Eve looks back down at the knife. She pushes against soft flesh experimentally and feels Villanelle’s muscles relax against the blade. Eve looks back up to see Villanelle has closed her eyes. Her body is completely still, awaiting her fate, awaiting Eve’s decision.

The knife clanks onto the floor behind the bed when Eve throws it over her shoulder. The noise makes Villanelle’s eyes shoot open, finding Eve’s instantly.

“You remember?” Villanelle asks tentatively.

“Yes” Eve breathes and slowly reaches her hand out until it is placed firmly on Villanelle’s sternum. Villanelle takes a sharp intake of breath at the contact and her eyes fall closed again. The steady thump of Villanelle’s heart under Eve’s palm feels like a greeting.

“Hi” Eve says, the simple word coaxing Villanelle’s eyes open.

“Hi” the blonde smiles at her.

And then Eve’s hand is grabbing Villanelle’s shirt, pulling and Villanelle comes willingly until she’s on top of Eve and their lips crash together, firm and soft at once. They both moan at the contact. It’s messy and desperate, both clinging at each other and to this moment.

They slow down eventually, finding comfort in the slow, soft movements of lips brushing lips. Eve runs her hand down Villanelle’s spine, eliciting a shiver, which turns into a tremble. Villanelle buries her head in the crook of Eve’s neck and breathes unevenly.

“It’s too much.” She mumbles against Eve’s skin as another shiver courses through her body.

Eve removes the hair tie from Villanelle’s hair and runs her hand through the blonde mane.

“I can feel… everything.” Villanelle’s voice cracks. “It’s too much.”

“It’s ok. It’ll be ok.” Eve whispers into her ear.

Villanelle buries herself deeper into Eve’s body and Eve continues to run her fingers through her hair soothingly. It’s a lot for her, too. To have Villanelle’s body press her into the mattress, to feel every part of her body against her own. She can’t imagine what it must be like for Villanelle, who wasn’t able to feel anything, not even her own body, for weeks.

“You smell so good” Villanelle says after a while and places her lips against Eve’s neck. She starts nibbling lightly at first, then more fervently. When she drags her tongue warm and wet along Eve’s pulse point and then sucks at it, Eve’s hips buck involuntarily. Villanelle responds by pressing her thigh between Eve’s legs.

“Fuck” Eve groans as her hips jerk again.

“Eve” Villanelle whines and props herself up on one arm to look down at Eve in awe. Her hand tangles in Eve’s hair for a bit, playing with the curls, before she traces two fingers along her jaw to her chin, her thumb brushes over Eve’s swollen lips.

“Does it feel like you imagined?” Eve asks breathily.

“Better… so much better”

“Yeah” Eve agrees.

And then they’re kissing again hungrily, hands roaming over each other’s body, legs tangled. Eve bites Villanelle’s lower lip lightly, but it’s enough to split the cut on her lip open again. Villanelle hisses and pulls away momentarily.

“You always have to make me bleed, huh?”

“Sorry” Eve says as she cups Villanelle’s cheek.

“It’s alright. It’s good.” She leans down and Eve sucks the split lip into her mouth roughly, making Villanelle groan angrily. She reciprocates by pulling at Eve’s hair tightly, all the while deepening their blood laced kiss.

At some point their shirts and bras land on the floor next to the abandoned weapons. Villanelle lowers herself again so that their bare chests are pressed together while their bodies find a rhythm grinding against each other.

Eve could do this forever, it feels so good.

“I want to taste you” Villanelle husks, her accent thick with lust. Eve groans when Villanelle pushes away from her. “Take off your pants.”

Eve obliges by hastily pulling down her pants and panties. She moves to lie back down, but Villanelle stops her with a hand on her arm.

“No. Come here” Villanelle instructs as she lies down on her back and pulls Eve towards her lightly.

“Oh” escapes from Eve’s lips as the realization of what Villanelle wants her to do shoots straight to her core. Villanelle grabs Eve’s thighs tightly as Eve places her knees on either side of Villanelle’s head. Eve’s whole body is thrumming with anticipation when she starts lowering herself on the blonde’s face, but Villanelle stops her right before she makes contact.

“Wait” Villanelle says with a hint of concern. “Do you want me to have a look for that fake moustache?”

Eve groans as a shit-eating grin spreads over Villanelle’s face. “Shut the fuck up. I swear to god…”

“Make me” Villanelle goads as her grin shifts into something softer. And so Eve does when she lowers herself onto Villanelle’s eager mouth.

Eve has one hand braced against the headboard and the other is gripping Villanelle’s hair tightly, her hips moving on their own accord.

“You feel so good, baby, so fucking good” the words are tumbling out of her mouth while Villanelle’s tongue spreads against her. Villanelle moans and the vibrations make Eve grind down harder. She can feel Villanelle’s body tremble and when she looks over her shoulder she sees Villanelle’s hand shoved into her pants moving frantically.

“Is this what you imagined when you touched yourself?”

Villanelle nods beneath her.

“I was the only one you thought about, right?”

Villanelle nods again.

“No one else?”

Villanelle shakes her head, her moans becoming more desperate.

“Only me. Because you’re mine.” The movements of Villanelle’s mouth falter as she gasps and a moment later she’s shaking as her orgasm courses through her. “Mine” Eve repeats, stroking Villanelle’s hair.

“Yours” Villanelle confirms. It takes Eve by surprise when wet fingers trace over her thigh and through her folds. They enter her easily, just as Villanelle’s tongue picks up a fast rhythm on her clit. Villanelle’s other hand reaches up to roughly squeeze Eve’s breast.

“Fuck, yes” is the most coherent thing Eve manages before her brain shuts down and all that comes out of her mouth for the next minutes are primal sounds. She comes faster and harder than she ever has before struggling to keep herself up against the headboard.

But while her orgasm still ripples through her, Villanelle suddenly shifts under her and then Eve slumps down gracelessly, her muscles clamping on nothing, her head falling against the headboard.

She panics slightly at Villanelle’s disappearance, when a deafening sound splits through her thoughts, then another one and another.

“Take cover!” Villanelle shouts from the kitchen and that finally makes Eve’s body respond. She scrambles off the bed, taking cover behind it. More shots are fired. Eve finds the knife beside her and grabs it. She crawls into the bathroom, that has a second door leading to the hallway, which is slightly ajar.

She watches through the crack as two armed men move further into the apartment. Another shot and one of them falls to the floor with a bullet between the eyes. The second man has moved passed the door now. Eve opens the door quietly. There are two more bodies at the door - the man in the hallway seems to be the last remaining intruder. Eve sees Villanelle’s gun peak around the corner of the kitchen again, but instead of a shot, the gun clicks empty. The man laughs and moves forward. Eve doesn’t think, she just moves. She’s through the door and behind him in an instant and sticks the knife deep into the side of his neck. Blood splatters against the wall on their right when she pulls out the knife. He gurgles angrily and falls to his knees, his hands still desperately clutching at his neck. Villanelle comes around the corner and smiles widely first at the bloody man on the floor, then at a naked Eve behind him. The man falls forward onto his face, twitches a few times and then he’s still. Everything is still for a moment, the two women regarding each other.

Villanelle reaches out her hand and Eve steps over the pool of blood at her feet and accepts it. She falls into Villanelle’s arms easily.

“You almost made me forget about the clean-up crew that was coming for me.” Villanelle says.

“I’m not quite used to all of that, yet.” Eve’s body is shaking, not entirely sure whether it’s from the orgasm she had only moments ago, the fact she just killed a man or because she’s naked in the chilly apartment.

“Thank you for helping me anyway.” Villanelle says. “Now, as much as I would love to get back to what we were doing earlier and maybe make good on that promise to fuck you with a strap-on... we should probably get away from here first. They might send back-up.” She gives Eve a tentative smile. “Unless, of course… I mean…”

Eve raises an eyebrow questioningly at the stuttering blonde. Villanelle averts her gaze.

“They’re after me, not you. So you can go back, of course…”

Eve laughs at the absurdity of the concept of _going back_. Back to what? “Hey” Eve says, placing a hand on Villanelle’s cheek and turning her head to face her again. “I’m yours, too, now. If you still want me.”

Villanelle nods resolutely. “Where do you want to go?”

Eve contemplates the question for a moment. “I’ve been wanting to see the Northern Lights, I’ve heard they’re quite pretty”

“They are”

“Any chance you can teleport us there?” Eve asks cheekily.

Villanelle grabs her hands and squeezes her eyes shut in concentration, but nothing happens. “No. I’m afraid not.”

“We’ll have to take the long way then”

Villanelle shrugs. “That’s more fun anyway”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The End. 
> 
> We did it :)
> 
> For anyone reading this in the next couple of days: Happy Holidays and hopefully a better new year for all of us. Cheers!


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